


Spirited Away 2: Dreams of Delight

by Madzie2000



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Genre: Coming of Age, F/M, Spirit/Human Relationships, possible sexual content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 16:54:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 22,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6160249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madzie2000/pseuds/Madzie2000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chihiro has a strange dream and now she is left to wonder about the day she and her parents lost their way and ended up in a forest. Who is the green-haired boy who wants her to retrieve a hair tie from the spider-infested attic of her home? Who are the other people, if they could be called that at all? And where did that dragon come from?</p><p>My newest fic at #4! check out the others if you get bored of this one :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Boy with Green Hair

_“Chihiro?! I wanted to see you again but I can’t go through the gate!” Chihiro looked at the boy in front of her and cocked her head slightly, analysing him. He was shorter than her, definitely younger, with hair that was trying to reach his shoulders, but fell short by a couple of inches. When the boy tried to grab her arm, Chihiro turned away and went rigid in fright._

_“Why would you try and touch me? I don’t know you!”_

_The boy froze up and his eyes began to tear up, feeling as though he would cry then and there._ Chihiro forgot what we had, but she will remember: I can **feel** it.

_“Chihiro, how could I know your name if I was a stranger? We met when you were ten and… I’m trying to get back to you like I promised.”_

_“What do you mean back? You're standing right there!" The boy looked up at the sky and breathed out to calm himself._

_“I cannot say now, but you must do something for me: go to this drawer in your parents room.”_

_“Take out the hair tie.” Chihiro watched as a set of wooden drawers appeared in front of them, as if summoned from the air she was breathing. She saw the boy’s outstretched hand and realised he had made it appear._

_“How did you do that?”_

_“This is a dream Chihiro. Anything can happen in a dream.” The boy disappeared while Chihiro focused on the drawers which remained behind, the wooden structure suddenly shaking wildly as if it contained a ravenous beast._

_“What going on?!” Chihiro was sure this would be a nightmare: something or someone would jump from the drawers and scare her to death, making her wake up with sweat pinning her to the bed._

_Instead, the drawer burst open and all sorts of weird creatures sprung from it: a giant baby that was_ **_definitely_ ** _obese, two identical elderly women, a tall, black transparent figure that wore a mask and something she hadn’t expected… human-like women, one of them calling out a name she thought she had heard before._

_“Sen?! Sen, come back to us! We miss you.” The last words were so pleading that Chihiro wished she knew who the brunette was, but there was no such luck._ Why are they calling me Sen? My name is Chihiro! _Chihiro looked to her right and saw a flash of white, then a pale green line. She let out a scream as a dragon flew toward her, looking angry._

_It roared at her and then…_

 

Suddenly Chihiro woke up in her own bed, staring at the thing opposite her. Without less than a minute to take in what she was looking at, Chihiro mistook her poster of a polar bear as the dragon and hid under her sheets. When nothing happened, she left her hiding place and checked the walls, laughing at her own stupidity. She was glad that it was school holidays: having a dream like this during the school week would cause a drop in her grades or worse – the girls might pick up on her ‘something-doesn’t-feel-right-vibe’ like they always did.

 

Her friends Midori and Murasaki, twins at her school, were the first girls she had made friends with. As the years went on, she lost a few, gained a few, but she always had those two by her side, no matter what. They could read other people like books, even the teachers, sometimes predicting when a test was coming up. Chihiro was reminded of someone like that, but she couldn’t think of who it could be at all. The realisation hit her like a speeding car. The twins from her dream, the old ladies with giant faces, shared a similar trait with Midori and Murasaki. 

 

All four of them had dark brown eyes that seemed to shimmer when they were mad or upset in any way. _But how would I know what those women look like when they’re upset? In my dream they were calling out like that other woman… calling for_ ** _me_** _._ Shaking her head of the thoughts that clouded her mind, Chihiro went to the bedroom door, opening it slowly and slipping out into the hallway. She used to be small and nimble, but her tall, lanky teenage body made her clumsy and loud, so she took care not to close the door hard enough that it made a banging sound.

 

Body out of the doorway, Chihiro half-expected her parents to see her wandering the halls in the early morning and give her a thorough questioning, but they were sound asleep in their bed when she opened the door to their bedroom. Her hands shook as she looked around for the drawers, mentally checking the appearance of them while the memories were fresh in her mind. _Pale, beige, but those are in the attic aren’t they?_ Chihiro shuddered at the thought of going into the attic, but she had no choice. Spiders, cobwebs and rats wouldn't stop her from finding that hair-tie, even if it meant getting a heart attack to do so.

This was a secret between her and the green-haired boy: nobody else would know, except us.

 

Tune on the 9th for a new chapter (but I can’t make any promises) that will be quite an eye-opener. Comments are overly appreciated and DEFINITELY wanted! I hope you like fourth wall breaks because I really had to add that one on the end of the first chapter and I will attempt to incorporate them into every chapter if at all possible.


	2. Attic Antics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro goes into the attic and realises that the day she and her parents went to the tunnel in the forest, something happened that cannot be explained by science or anyone she knows. Only the boy with green hair could tell her and she is determined to see him, not matter what may or may not happen.
> 
> Couldn't resist making a new chapter for my 2 hits, so here it is, just for you guys!

Chihiro stood under the string that led into the attic and got worried. _What if Mum and Dad head it hit the floor? They’ll ask what’s going on and I’ll have to lie: I’M A TERRIBLE LIAR!_ Chihiro sighed and pulled on the string lightly, putting her hand up so that the part of the ladder than slid down to meet the floor wouldn’t make a clicking sound as it met with the other half. Chihiro lowered the ladder to the ground slowly, the pieces gently knocking together and she moved her hand away.

She carefully placed the bottom of the ladder onto the ground and listened out for any sign of her parents. All she heard was her father snoring loudly, which made her giggle. Chihiro went up the ladder slowly, optimism and curiosity spurning her onward. She got to the top and flicked a switch, which illuminated an old light-bulb attached to the rafters. Chihiro could see that the attic was full of dust, but there weren’t any cobwebs which let her puzzled. As she searched around, she noticed that there was a feather duster and a cobweb brush, sitting on the drawers she had been looking for.

 

Chihiro picked up the brush and scanned the room for any 8-legged creatures that might be hiding away, ready to use it as a weapon if the time called for it. The boy had given her a clue to who he was, the hair tie, but he seemed to want her to work for the truth. Chihiro picked up the duster and began sweeping it over cardboard boxes, old furniture, crates, piles of books and other items that had been hidden in the attic. Seeing the old books from her last school made Chihiro stop her hectic but precise cleaning, a frown falling over her. She had loved her old school and friends, but…

Suddenly her mind flashed to the day her parents drove to the statue and she was sure she had gone into the tunnel, but somehow she was walking out of it and their car was full of leaves and dust. Her mother assumed that someone had pulled a prank on them for fun, but what if the car had been there longer? _What happened? I can’t remember that boy or those other weird people… was I abducted by aliens and taken to their world? But the boy looks so human, just like that dark-haired lady in her uniform. The black thing without a face is definitely not human, so that means something must have happened and I **will** find out; even if I have to clean the entire house!_

Chihiro sped up her work and finally started to clean the beige drawers, carefully cleaning the small metal handles. She took care in her work to be sure she appeased whatever being wanted hr to find the hair-tie: if she did, she might get another clue as to what happened that day. After what seemed like an eternity, Chihiro finished cleaning and dropped everything in her hands, the handles of the brush and duster making a light clatter as they hit the floor of the attic. She was leaning against a bare patch of wall by the drawers, wiping sweat from her forehead.

The sudden feeling of being watched crawled into her head and she searched for its source, but found none. With a small shudder going through her body, Chihiro turned so she was kneeling in front of the drawers, her hand sitting on one of the handles.

“Well, here goes nothing.” With a slight amount of enthusiasm, Chihiro opened the top drawer and found lots of paperwork hidden inside.

 

The drawer was longer than she thought, so she pulled it out even further and saw something sparkle in the back of it. She grabbed at the object and felt something thin, like a fabric and excitedly wrenched it from the confines of the dark drawer and looked at it for a moment, not believing her eyes. The hair tie from her dream was now in her hand, exactly as she had seen it. Her mind flashed back to the statue and she knew, in that moment, that she had to go back. Thanking her lucky stars she had a driver’s license, Chihiro ran to her room and got dressed. If she was going to meet the boy from the dream, she had to be presentable at the very least.


	3. The Tunnel and The River

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro is travelling to the tunnel where she believes the boy is waiting for her, but she takes her eyes off the road for just a second: what will happen next?

Chihiro had been driving for a good 2 hours, slowly piecing together where the tunnel and the bridge were from memory. Had she been a year younger or so, she might have a clearer idea of what she was looking for. She had left a note at home saying that she would be at a friend’s house, that of Midori and Murasaki, and they gladly covered for her. When she said it was important, they knew she had her reasons, whether she told them or not. A few signs on the road seemed familiar, so she followed them, coming to the edge of a forest, the dirt track carving its way through the dense trees that made a tall canopy over it. Chihiro made a sharp turn, another driver honking in anger, but she wasn’t listening to them at all. She was too focused on driving carefully along the bumpy path and finding the boy with green hair.

Wherever he was, he must have been hiding out of her field of view, because she could feel eyes on her, hiding behind the trunk of a tree in the greenery of the forest. Chihiro heard a voice in the back of her mind, telling her to turn back, practically screaming at her that she was putting herself in danger.

“Go away! I know what I’m doing!” Chihiro let her mind wander, taking her eyes away from the path for just a moment. _Do I really know what I’m doing here? What if he’s not –_ Chihiro’s thoughts were cut short as she screamed, barely missing a stone statue ahead of her. She slammed on the breaks and stopped less than a metre from the side of the tunnel, the tyre’s deflating as she got out.

“Great! My tyres are dead – what next?”

 

Haku was on the other side of the river waiting for Chihiro, knowing that the moment they saw one another, she might remember him. If not, he could always show her the places they’d been together and bring them back over time. Chihiro could feel invisible hands, perhaps her own memories in a physical form, urging her to walk through the tunnel. Chihiro plucked a backpack from the rear seat of the car and slung it over her shoulders as she would usually do with her school bag. The backpack had a few supplies she would need: a sleeping-bag, a pillow, 20 dollars in coins and an apple to eat until she found a place to buy food. Chihiro was having a hard time motivating herself, but she knew that she had no other choice but to press on and see the boy.

“Okay.” Chihiro huffed, breathing in calmly.

“Come on Chihiro! You came this far, don’t quit now.” Chihiro looked up into the tunnel and slowly but surely, walked forward, suddenly feeling a bout of déjà vu.

 _I **was** here before, I went through this way, but when? _ Chihiro found herself wondering why she had gone through it in the first place, but a bright green on the other side kept her focused on the present, the blades of grass shimmering in the morning sun. As she left the tunnel, Chihiro could see what look like an amusement park on the other side of the river, which seemed to drift further away the longer she stared at it. Someone was on the shore, a long flowing white cloak with a hood covering their face and clothing.

“Hello? Um… how do I get across?” Chihiro heard the voice of the boy calling to her form across the river, shouting in a hurried voice.

 

“Swim Chihiro, swim!” The boy took off the cloak and transformed into the dragon from her dream, stretching most of his body out over the gap that was forming between the two worlds. The dragon roared at her and Chihiro had no choice but to jump in. With all her strength and the will to get to the dragon-boy, Chihiro put her swimming skills from the School Carnival into practice, swinging her arms and kicking her legs as quickly as she could. The backpack weighing her down made the journey a little more difficult, as did the small waves that formed and slapped against her face. When she was in Haku’s reach, he plucked her from the water with his teeth and set her down by his back legs. While Chihiro took off the bag, Haku changed back into his human form and aged himself to match her. _Why hasn’t she said anything?_ Haku was staring at Chihiro, who had crossed her arms over her chest as a chill ran up her spine. She hated it when people stared at her.

 

“It’s freezing.” Haku smiled and picked the cloak from the ground, lightly pulling it around her shoulders.

“Thanks Haku.” Chirhiro smiled for a second and then it disappeared, all her memories flooding back in an instant. The mental strain and the breaking of the magic that had clouded Chihiro’s mind made her fell faint and she fell toward the ground. Haku caught her in his arms and walked her through the town, every last spirit he walked past noticing the River Spirit - now a teenage boy - carrying a human. One of the shopkeeper’s eyes followed Haku until her rounded a corner and transformed. As much as he wanted to take Chihiro to see Lin, Boh and the others who would want to see her, Chihiro needed to come to terms with what she had done in the past and where she was in the present.

_Adding other spirits to the equation would just make things harder for her, and for me._ Haku picked Chihiro up carefully in his mouth and flew her to the boiler room, where Kamajii was hard at work.

“Haku? Is that you, boy?” While he was still working, Kamajii watched Haku gently place Chihiro on a thin mattress the boy had laid out earlier, certain that Chihiro wouldn’t handle the Spirit World too well. Haku changed back into his human form, remaining a teenager.

“Ah! So you really did bring Sen back, eh? How is she?” Haku felt like letting his mouth drop to the floor. Kamajii was old, but he wasn’t stupid.

“ **Chihiro** got her memories back and then she fainted… I think.” Haku’s worried facial expression made the old man laugh heartily, as if he’d told a joke.

 

“You’re so uncertain I might die of shock: you’re such a confident young man. Leave her some food and water so she won’t disappear and we’ll look after her, alright? You’re coming of age soon and the last thing you need is to worry about Chihiro.” Haku gave a quick nod, knowing his friend would be rather busy when the mid-morning rush began.

“Thank you Kamajii. I’ll come back later in the day.” Haku left in his dragon form, glad that Chihiro would be in safe hands.

 

Okay, so we’re all on the same page here, this is my explanation of age-changing: spirits can be whatever age they chose until their 1,000th birthday (coming of age), where they must choose an age to remain at forever. Haku will make his choice, but he must go through the same phases of growing as a human would, beginning at the age he found his first love (12). This is why some spirits are younger than others (young love, such as Lin at 25) and some are older (a more mature love, such as Yubaaba and Zeniiba at 50).


	4. Issen and Haku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kamajii has the rather awkward task of welcoming Chihiro back into the Spirit World and explaining the Coming-of-Age process for spirits.
> 
> As a note, Issen means one thousand... who says I wooldn't do any research? XD

 

Chihiro was still hazy from the sudden intrusion of information into her brain, but as she awoke, it all became clear as day: where she was, who she had seen in her dream and what was happening. At the sight of a spindly-legged old man, Chihiro smiled and rubbed her eyes lightly, making sure he hadn’t noticed her stand up and slip the thin blanket he had given her onto the floor. The soot sprites came out of their arched houses and shrilled at Chihiro when she stepped on the wooden tiles, alerting her to the fact that she needed to take the shoes off. The teenager put a finger to her lips and the soot sprites suddenly silenced themselves, staring over her shoulder with their colourless black-and-white eyes. Kamajii cleared his throat and Chihiro turned, one of her shoelaces tripping her up. She fell down toward the soot sprites, twenty or so still beneath her, frozen in fear. Kamajii laughed and Chihiro smiled weakly.

 

“I see you’re still clumsy, eh Chihiro?” Kamajii watched Chihiro stand and squeal when she saw the soot sprites squashed into the floor. Suddenly she felt a breeze run along her neck and swiped at it as if she could make it move away. The world seemed to slow as a soot sprite flew from the tips of her fingers and waved happily as it fell to the floor. Chihiro laughed harder than Kamajii had and he joined in. It was the soot sprites on her back that had been crawling off of it after regenerating. The one Chihiro swept away landed in the crowd and they all suddenly pushed her over, her head nearly hitting the side of the dirt-covered pit the sprites lived in. Chihiro reluctantly took off her shoes and replaced them with socks that had small rubber strips in rows across the underside of her heels and toes. The made her feel like she had stepped in gum when she walked.

 

Kamajii had made them to her specific foot measurements while she slept, making them a little smaller than her shoes so that they would fit snugly, adding extra fabric around the ankles so that they wouldn’t leave blisters on her tender skin. _The fabric is so soft._

“These are new regulation footwear. Now workers won’t slip on the stairs when they go rushing about in the Bath House.” The old man paused for a moment so Chihiro could keep up with him.

“Do you remember my name at all?” Chihiro gave a nod and a rather deep bow that left Kamajii confused beyond belief.

“Your name is Kamajii. You lied about me being your granddaughter so that I could work here without Lin finding out I was human.”

Chihiro could barely believe what she was saying as an image of the dream popped into her head. The woman she had seen in a uniform was Lin, the two old women were Yubaaba and Zeniiba and the black see-through creature that had a mask for a face was simply called No-Face. He was living with Zeniiba in her little cottage in Swamp Bottom, and the boy was Haku: to be exact, Nigihayami Kohakunushi. _But, where is he?_

“Where is Haku?”

“I have a couple of dumplings sitting in that little pink tin for you to eat. If you don’t eat food from the Spirit World you will begin to-” Chihiro suddenly looked at her hands, as they felt numb and she saw them fading away to nothingness. The effect moving up her arms rapidly and she was beginning to feel panicked.

 

Using what stumps she had left, she picked up the tin from the nearby shelf and gave it to Kamajii who passed her a dumpling. She took a small bite and it worked straight away. As her hands slowly reappeared, Chihiro rolled the dumpling along between her arms, warming them up as the little package moved along. When her fingers came back, she grabbed onto the dumpling in a more proper fashion and Kamajii laughed again.

“My my, somebody’s done a lot of growing! Look how tall you are!”

“Thankyou Kamajii, but your avoiding my question: where is Haku?” Kamajii ran a hand over his moustache and sat on his stool, pulling another out from under his table and giving it to Chihiro. She sat down across from Kamajii patiently waiting for his answer.

“Humans grow, don’t they? Like flowers.”

 

Chihiro looked at the floor, squinting as her thoughts raced around in her mind.

“I suppose they do, but what’s that got to do with anything?”

“Spirits and humans both age, but like humans, come to a certain age when their body changes for good. In humans it happens around the ages of 12 and 13. In a spirit it happens on their one-thousandth birthday.” Chihiro nodded slowly, her eyes still on the floor as she took in more information.

“So… it’s like puberty?” Kamajii gave an awkward nod. _She catches on pretty quickly._

“Exactly right, Chihiro. And every spirit must go through this process via a very specific ritual. It starts with a dream that shows the person their first love. This means they are ready to begin the ceremony which initiates the coming-of-age ritual officially.”

 

“I am not allowed to give exact details of the ritual process like the oaths, but I can tell you this: the spirit who is turning 1000 years old must choose an age to be for the rest of eternity and cannot go back on it. The age they were when they found their first love is where they start off and then they go through the human processes of growing up. Puberty, as you put it. As Haku has a human form and dragons do not grow much bigger after their one-thousandth year, he will grow as human boys do, but far more quickly.” Chihiro looked at Kamajii and gulped loudly enough for her own ears to hear.

“Does that mean he’ll get taller and be older… or the other way around?” Kamajii stared into Chihiro’s confused eyes, hoping his words would calm her a little.

“That is in Haku’s hands now. We aren’t allowed to intervene in his choice. Yet.”

Cliff-hanger as usual J But you love me for it right? A big thankyou for the kudos and hits as well. Comments are appreciated so take the time to review my writing if you can! (And I’m begging you to give constructive criticism: “It’s funny” is not going to help me as a writer). Again i apologise for random italics or the lack of them for a characters thoughts: I am having issues with the site :/

 

Enjoy yourselves today/tonight!     


	5. Lin's Imagination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro learns a little more about a spirit's 1000th birthday and Lin returns, immediately picking up on the way Haku got in contact with her. Why are dreams so dangerous for Chihiro as a human?

Chihiro turned her head to the side, utterly confused.

“What do you mean ‘yet’?” Kamajii frowned and went back to his table, continuing his work while he spoke to Chihiro, pausing occasionally to concentrate on the more difficult tasks.

“Well… during the ceremony Haku is allowed to ask one person a question about something relating to age, whether it be his or their own. It is a way of assisting in Haku making the final decision without forcing their own influences into his decision. He needs to be sure ” Without warning, Lin barged into the boiler room and started yelling at Kamajii, a foul stench coming from her clothes.

“Hey old man, can you hurry it up down here? A stink spirit is upstairs and he smells like wet-” Lin couldn’t finish her sentence. Less than a metre away sat Sen, the little girl she hadn’t seen in 5 years. Of course, she wasn’t so little any more.

“Oh my god, Sen?! When did you get here?”

 

Chihiro laughed and got up from the chair, moving it away from Kamajii’s workspace.

“Not long ago. Haku brought me using this.” Chihiro reached back to her now-long ponytail and carefully slid out the shimmering pink hair tie given to her by Zeniiba after No-Face, Boh and Yu-bird made it. Lin snorted as she held back a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Lin was grinning like an idiot, her inappropriate thoughts getting the better of her more conservative side.

“I thought he’d drawn you back with his animal magnetism.” Lin fell to the floor in a fit of laughter while Chihiro looked at her in both shock and amusement, the expression on her face causing Lin to only laugh harder.

“That’s…um… that’s not what I meant. He came to me in a dream.”

“Oh, so that changes things does it? I guess I’ll buy that for now.” Chihiro sighed in defeat, knowing that Lin would take anything she said from now on as an excuse.

 

“So where’s Mr I’m-a-thousand-years-old? Out flying around?”

“Lin, get out. You’re stench is both distracting me and hindering my work. Take Chihiro to see Yubaaba; that dreadful creature will want to know that she’s back.” Lin stood up and nodded solemnly.

“Come on Chihiro, you can wear some of my older clothes around the Bath House.” Kamajii used a spare hand to quickly wave the two women off as they left for the female staffs dorm. Chihiro hadn’t been anywhere but the boiler room, so to walk through the halls and see no change in this place she felt she knew so well was astounding. Lin rushed to find clothes in a small cupboard, pulling out a uniform exactly like the one Chihiro had worn 5 years ago.

“This is what I wore when I met you. I never thought you’d come back and be able to fit into it, so this is pretty weird for me.” Chihiro’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped.

 

“You mean you’re over 1000 years old?! You don’t look a day over 22.”

“To be exact, I found love when I was 25 and I wanted to find it again at the same age.” Lin took on a mocking tone, directing it at Chihiro.

“All that age and love mumbo-jumbo has your head spinning, doesn’t it?” Chihiro shook her head with a subtle hint of a smile.

“I understand most of it, but I wanted to ask you something.” Lin turned around in surprise as Chihiro took the clothes, turning away again as she began changing into them. Humans enjoyed their privacy, as do spirits, and even she had to respect that.

“About what?”

“How did Haku talk to me through my dreams? If he’d been trying it for the past 5 years, why didn’t I hear him sooner? Why did I forget about this place?” Lin smiled.

“Is it safe to turn ‘round?”

 

Chihiro made a final adjustment to the white straps over her shoulders and called to the Bath House worker in mild excitement.

“Yeah, your fine.” Lin spun on her heels and saw Chihiro wearing her uniform, the top dipping a little too low for her liking in the chest area. Lin pretended not to notice it immediately, but knew Chihiro had seen her stare.

“I know, I didn’t just grow taller did I?” Lin laughed heartily.

“No, no you didn’t. Come here.” Chihiro walked forward and Lin pulled a safety pin from her section of the cupboard in the wall. Carefully pulling the two sides of fabric together, she pushed the pin through and stood back with one hand on it, checking her work. With a few minor tweaks, Lin closed the pin and let Chihiro check it out in a mirror hidden behind the door of the room.

“What do you think?”

 

“It looks like I grew too quickly.” Lin put a hand on Chihiro’s shoulder and stared at the two figures in the mirror.

“You did, but I’d expect that from someone who used to be a child. Haku is practically going through the same thing tomorrow.” Chihiro grew pale and felt as though she was about to fall over.

“Tomorrow?” Lin sighed lightly and tried to think of Chihiro’s question, the rare serious tone of her voice coming through again.

“How about I answer the one about dreams? I’ll let Haku explain the other parts for you, but when spirits enter a humans dream, they can almost take control of them because the spirit is awakened to both the spirit, human and waking world. It’s almost like a possession, but not quite as terrifying. That’s why some sleepwalkers go out inot the street: spirits that dislike humans want them to be eradicated.”

 

Worst of all, they make the whole thing look like an accident.” Chihiro stared at Lin for a whole minute, motionless and barely breathing.

“Did Haku do that to **me**?” Lin shook her head.

“Of course not! He loves you too much.”

“Loves? How could he love…” Chihiro played her last visit to the Spirit World through her mind and finally knew what she had been wanting to say.

“But I don’t know if I love him back anymore.” Lin and Chihiro heard a loud thud, followed by an odd clatter and ripping. Haku was laid out on the floor with part of a screened wall in his hand, the rest hanging by the thin paper-like fabric.  

 

 

These cliff-hangers are going to make me dizzy! By the way, when did I get to 40+ hits? I don’t know how my incorrect spelling and grammar hasn’t driven you all away yet! If you’re here for the intimacy, you will be waiting for a long while: the first fic I wrote with full-on smut had 22 chapters... hints and bits and pieces of smuttiness will be included along the way, so enjoy what I have brought to the table for now.


	6. Visiting Zeniiba Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku is back to his normal self and invites Chihiro to stay with Zeniiba until the time of the ceremony to ask her about the choices she, her sister and other Bath House workers had made in regards to their age.
> 
> What secrets will Chihiro uncover? Only you will get to find out!

Chihiro was frozen where she stood. Lin broke the silence as she knelt down and felt Haku’s forehead, tut-tutting while the floor boards beneath her creaked. Chihiro fell to her knees, mind racing and head hung drearily over her lap. She put a hand to her mouth, looking over at Haku.

“What have I done?” Chihiro moved her hand back to her knee and stared into Lin’s eyes. “Is he dead?”

“You’ve made him sick, Chihiro, but I doubt he’ll get any worse. Listen carefully. The first love of a spirit is like their driving force to get them to their thousandth year, like a human heart. Without it, they die. If there is a complication, they get sick. Does that make sense at all?”

While Lin thought over her explanation, Chihiro moved over to Haku and thought about what she had said and done again. As a child, she had never truly known what love was, so how could she suddenly doubt something she didn’t understand? All she could do was apologise to him. With what tenderness she could muster, Chihiro pulled Haku’s upper body into her lap and cradled it. She leaned over his a little as a tear fell from her eyes, landing on him with a small pat.

“I’m sorry Haku. I don’t want you to die before your birthday.” What Chihiro said next made Lin drop her jaw in pure shock.

“I… I love you too much to let you die.” _She changes her mind way too quickly!_ Haku woke up from his fever, the heat disappearing in an instant. He leant up and gave Chihiro a hug, warming them both in a way they couldn’t explain, as if it had come from their very souls.

 

“I love you too, Chihiro. I always will.”

Chihiro felt Haku pull her in tighter and she smiled as a few more tears joined the lonesome one in his clothing. Lin joined in with the smiles and wiped away a tear of her own, Haku pointed her out to Chihiro with a rather loud laugh and some whispering that Lin overheard.

“I wasn’t crying Haku! You know that.”

“Of course you didn’t Lin.” Haku’s smirk left Lin blushing furiously, arms crossed over her chest. Haku and Chihiro stood, their eyes meeting for an instant. In that moment, Haku thought that he had made his choice, but not the choice he needed to make just yet. He held her at arm’s length, bending his elbow’s so that he wouldn’t seem to be distant from her.

“Chihiro, would you like to find out about the others?”

“What do you mean? The other workers?” Haku nodded with a small smile.

“That’s why I was headed up here, to ask you if you wanted to see Zeniiba about age the age she had chosen. Then you might be able to understand the decision I have to make tomorrow night during the ceremony. I’ll have Zeniiba bring you back, but you can take these tickets to get there.” Haku reached into his pocket and pulled out 10 small tickets that had changed from the last ones she’d seen.

 

“What happened to the tickets?”

“They change every month so people can’t try to use old ones and trick the ticket inspector. It doesn’t happen often, but it isn’t fair on the people that work for them. Goodness knows I had to work hardest of all after you left.” Chihiro grinned.

“Thankyou Haku. I’ll go now if you want me to?” Haku smiled and shifted into a dragon, his scales shimmering in the sun as he threw his head back, gesturing to his long slender neck. As Kamajii has said, his dragon form hadn’t changed much at all. The only difference she could see was that his scales were no longer a pure white, but bordering on pale silver. She could see his smile and it made her heart beat just a little faster; his was doing the same, but Chihiro was completely clueless.

“Okay, I’ll get on, but you have to promise me that there’ll be no funny business.” The green-maned dragon bowed its head once as Chihiro’s grin widened into a smile. Gently placing a foot by his lowered head, Chihiro straddled Haku’s neck and grabbed onto his horns gently, unsure of his anatomy in this form. Haku floated out of the room, leaving Lin to fix the screen and wonder what would happen later on. Lin's mind had become set on one thing; making sure Haku didn't do something stupid to hurt Chihiro.

Meanwhile, Chihro was having the time of her life as Haku flew toward the train station at a peaceful pace, not rushing. 

“Thanks, I hate going too fast."

 

The dragon turned it's head and suddenly flew upward, causing Chihiro to squeal in fright. Haku moved toward the station again and Chihiro said nothing for a while. She was terrified of dying in a plane crash and Haku hadn't made her thoughts on flying any better than they had been previously. The dragon let out a series of low huffs that resembled a chuckle and it made her blood run cold. _That sounds so creepy..._

"That's not funny! I could've hurt myself." Haku landed and changed back into his human form, hugging her again.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight."

As much as she wanted to resist it, she couldn't, sighed quietly and hugged him back.

"You **were** thinking straight: straight up." Haku chuckled into her ear and, to his surprise, received a kiss on the cheek. His face became as red as Lin's as he put a hand to his cheek.

"What was that for?" Chihiro smiled and tried not to laugh at his embarrassment.

"For being so apologetic... and for being you." Haku returned the smile and looked a little further along the track to see Chihiro's escort.

" A certain someone got here early just to see you." Haku pointed to the other side of the platform where a dark shape stood in place, not moving. Haku left before Chihiro could react, leaving the terrified girl alone with her escort who hadn't noticed her yet. _Who is that? Why isn't Haku going with me? Why didn't he just fly me there?!_

 

 

Scary stuff! Who do you think this dark stranger is? I apologise for being so late on this: I had a drama production at school and joined in with a Year 11 class, meaning all I've had time for is homework and rehearsals, plus 4 performances in 2 days! (Good luck saying that one breath). But I guess I got here in the end, didn't I? I won't make any promises, but I will do my best to have another chapter out by **Wednesday or Thursday.**

Also, a big thankyou to you all: this story now has 80 hits and I am amazed at how well it's doing XD 


	7. Visiting Zeniiba Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The creature on the platform reveals itself and Chihiro finally gets to see Zeniiba after 7 long years. What does the old spirit say that will make Chihiro worry about the way Haku contacted her and why has Yubaaba asked Chihiro to return so soon? This will all be told in the following chapter, so expect a quick update for all the eager beavers :)

The creature turned and revealed a white mask with purple triangles, black eyes and a sweet smile that was unmistakeable for any other.

“No-Face!” Chihiro waved and he waved back, uttering the only word he could.

“Ah.” Though he couldn’t speak words, Chihiro was sure that he was happy to see her.

“How have you been?” Chihiro ran to him, finally putting out her hand for No-Face to shake. He took it gently and shook it with the same kindness. He gave her a thumbs-up, what she guessed to be a way of saying that Yubaaba had been looking after him.

“That’s good. Do you notice anything different about me?” Chihiro was silently praying he didn’t mention her chest and somebody must have heard. He put a hand down nearer to the ground and then pulled it up to her height.

“Yes, I did get taller than I was but not quite as tall as you.” The train suddenly pulled in, completely unexpected.

 

A light wind rushed past them and Chihiro shuddered. No-Face gestured to the train and Chihiro’s pocket, seeming to beckon for them to get on and give the ticket inspector a ticket. Chihiro got the tickets form her slightly bulged pocket and handed them to No-Face, who in turn gave the tickets to the inspector after a quick, single-worded destination.

“Ah.” The inspector took the tickets and tore half of them up, giving the rest back to No-Face. The pair found an empty seat and prepared for the long trip. As she had done many years ago, Chihiro sat on an angle and stared out of the window, not struggling to see out of it because of her short stature. Chihiro zoned out for a short while until No-Face waved a hand in front of her eyes, trying to get her attention.

“Ah. Ah ah.” He patted his shoulder, as if asking her to use it as a pillow.

“I’m not tired, I’m just thinking too hard. Thank you for the offer though.”

 

No reply.

“Is something wrong?” No-Face shook his head and tilted it a little, inspecting her face.

“Is it… because I look different?” No-Face nodded and put out his hand, a number forming on his hand.

“Wow! You’re 5,000 years old? I’m only 17.” No-Face made his single-worded reply faster, as if he were laughing.

“Why don’t you use your voice? All you say is ‘ah’ and I can’t understand you.” No-Face put out his hand again, removing paper and a pen. He finished writing and handed the letter to Chihiro.

_“I represent greed; when I speak, people become greedy. In the Bath House I could speak freely because others had figuratively and literally been consumed by greed. It has no effect on you, but I cannot risk causing trouble on public transport Chihiro.”_

Chihiro nodded. _It made so much sense: everybody was already greedy in the Bath House, so his voice wouldn't make them any greedier. That means we have to be alone to talk to one another._ Chihiro brushed away the thought of speaking to No-face alone: _friend or not, he’s practically a stranger to me. He probably noticed my chest and wanted to move away. A metre is a bit much though..._

“You can sit next to me, I don’t mind.” The sentence he wrote on the back of the paper confirmed her suspicions.

 _“You’re a young woman and need your personal space. Haku’s affections for you might change if I sit too close to you; he may even become jealous.”_ Chihiro let traces of a smile form on her lips and moved over toward him a little.

“But don’t give me too much space, otherwise I might be attacked by one of the aggressive spirits and you’ll be too far away to protect me.”

 

 - A few hours later -

 

Chihiro didn’t remember falling asleep, but somehow she had dozed off on the train with her head a few centimetres away from No-Face’s hip. The spirit was gently poking her cheek and began to point at the door as the train stopped.

“Ah.” Chihiro jumped up and No-Face followed, the setting sun casting his hulking figure over her entire body. The lamp jumped over to the familiar couple on its single spindly hand and lead the way, his lit candle becoming brighter as the sky darkened. They walked for a while, the walk a lot shorter than Chihiro remembered. It wasn’t until she saw No-Face eye to eye that she realised she was taller and therefore had a longer stride. Finally reaching an archway in front of Zeniiba’s cottage, the lantern wrapped itself up, lighting the path they had been following in a pale amber glow. Chihiro saw the door open and Zeniiba was standing in the doorway with a warm smile on her large face.

 

“Granny!” The old spirit’s happiness became surprise when she saw the girl up close, now much taller than her, but shorter than No-Face by a few centimetres.

“Hello Chihiro. Have a good ride on the train?” Chihiro smiled back and bent down, giving Zeniiba a hug.

“Come in dear, we have so much to talk about.” Chihiro and No-Face followed behind and quickly got comfortable on some small stools. _These became so much more uncomfortable when my hips grew out; oh well, No-Face isn’t doing any better._ Chihiro giggled as the greedy spirit behind her organised three chairs in a row, even putting the one for Zeniiba under himself.

“No-Face, put mine back where it was and ask politely.” The chair went back and the woman sat down, her legs needing the rest.

"So, are you ready to hear what I have to say or would you like something to eat first." Chihiro nodded and Zeniiba left her alone with No-Face, the spirit occasionally glancing her way.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything special for your arrival, but this stew should do the trick." Zeniiba set down a bowl in front of the two travellers and whispered into No-Face's ear, Suddenly his body began to shift and Chihiro screamed at the sight of a black puddle on the floor.

"What happened to him?!" Zeniiba smiled and stared at the horrified girl.

"You'll see. You all will"

 

Dear God we got past 120! What happened? Big thanks to you all for the support in the comments. This storyline has required a lot of thinking and I beg of you to see my other works while you wait

because I have 2 complete fics ready for the viewing masses and this storyline has taken up most of my time.


	8. Visiting Zeniiba Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to No-Face and what secrets will be Zeniiba revealed as the night rolls onward?

The gunk on the floor bubbled and slowly flowed upward, making the shape of what looked like a gingerbread man. In seconds the liquid began to form finer shapes; long black hair, pale skin, No-Face’s mask, the liquid settling around the man’s feet like molten lava, bubbling and gurgling. Zeniiba swiped her hand in the direction of the liquid and it filled in a gap near the man’s back, forming what was left of his body. The man took off his face and revealed a young man that looked very similar to Haku, the only noticeable difference being his deep brown eyes and slightly larger nose.

“Zeniiba? What did you do to me?” Like the man form Phantom of the Opera – though she couldn’t understand a word without scanning the subtitles – he had a soothingly deep voice that had an entrancing quality about it. He had been hiding that voice for years behind his mask, concealing everything that had come from it too.

 

“You didn’t sound like that the last time I heard you talk. No-Face, you sound as though you should be on a TV screen.” The girl suddenly felt an incessant… heat. _Why am I burning up?_ Chihiro’s hand grazed her neck as she brushed the hair from her skin as her heart tried to leap from inside her ribcage.

“Say my name properly, not in English. It sounds like I don’t have a heart either.” The venom in his voice snapped Chihiro free of her light-headedness and she instantly realised what was happening. Greed was spilling from him, engulfing her; greediness becoming a gluttonous lust.

“I’m sorry Kaonashi, I didn’t mean to be rude.” He smiled and Chihiro fell to the ground, leaving Zeniiba puzzled.

 

“You did that, not me Kaonashi. That greed of yours isn’t affecting her the way you predicted, is it?” Kaonashi stood and his height sent a shiver up the old woman’s spine, his voice booming through the cottage. The longer he spoke, the more it quietened down, the more he became rational rather than cruel.

“You old witch! This could adversely affect what she feels for Haku and I don’t plan on interfering. My voice could be killing her and jealous anger along with lustful greed won’t do her any good. Change me back so I can leave, please.” Zeniiba smiled and put a hand on the man’s shoulder, her arm extended as far as it would reach.

“I wish my sister were like you Kaonashi; angry but kind the moment the anger leaves. That woman has held a grudge since our coming-of-age ceremony. I forgave her for it, but she sees only the wrong I’ve done. Sit with me and wait for her to wake up. Remember Kaonashi, anything that can be read as loving or lustfulness will change her. If you stay calm and show your true kindness then nothing will go wrong.”

When Chihiro finally woke from her sleep and saw Kaonashi standing by Zeniiba, the two adults glancing at her as she stood up.

"You'd better eat something soon Chihiro, before it gets too cold." Kaonashi walked away, but the door to his room closed when he was about to walk through, the hard wood missing his nose by a hairsbreadth.

"You too Kaonashi. I'll start telling you what I know soon, so be patient, **all** of you."

"Okay Granny." Chihiro sat down across from Kaonashi, eating the warm soup with delight. The vegetables were soft and the meat was practically melting in her mouth, keeping both her heart and body warm. _Imagine that; she cooked this just for Kaonashi and I because she thinks of us a family... but what was it that she was saying about Yubaaba holding a grudge?_

 

You heard Zeniiba, don't get your knickers in a twist!  


	9. That's How It All Began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zeniiba tells Chihiro a story oif love and loss while Chihiro realises all too late that Haku isn't the only person with their eyes on her.

Chihiro ate in silence, No-Face joining in after a few minutes of contemplating how to handle the situation he was in. _My voice is so entrancing to her! I speak and she’s mine to order about… this is beyond bad; this is terrible. But the old witch knows what she’s talking about: if I can say something that can only be interpreted in one way and doesn’t sound remotely like flirting then I’ll be fine._

“Kaonashi, how old are you? I mean how old were you, when you found love?” The spirit tilted his head and squinted at her.

“Why do you want to know?” Zeniiba heard the cruelty in his voice and gave him a look that said it was the wrong time to say such a thing. However, Chihiro surprised them both by laughing.

 

“I’m sorry; I didn’t know spirits were as protective of their age as humans.” Kaonashi nodded as if that had been the reason behind his questioning of her motives.

“I chose to be 23 and stay at the age I’d stayed since I was 23. In both forms I’m healthy, tall and considerably handsome for a spirit of greed.” Kaonashi’s lack of expression was perplexing Chihiro, but she knew there were some things about the spirit world she could and would never understand.

“How about you Granny?” Zeniiba chuckled and moved over to a small lounge, clicking her fingers to light the kindling in the fireplace.

“It’s a bit cold. Sit by the fire and I’ll tell you why my sister dislikes me so much. It all began after we got lost.”

_Two sisters, both identical in appearance and personality, were walking through the forest, carving a path through to the river with stolen kaiken knives. Their youthful ages had passed and both were half way to 50. They had been exploring for so long that seeing the river was like a blessing, so they began to drink its cold and soothing water, neither of them noticing the shore move away from them._

_“Yuu, I told you we shouldn’t have gone so far from the village!”_

_“Hush yourself Zen! We could be found at any moment. If we’re found we can only get out with these.” Yuu held up the kaiken in her hands and a rushing made them worry. The sisters finally realised that the shoreline had left them behind and the water around them had begun to pull them out toward another island._

_Suddenly waves crashed over them, the hapless swimmers rushing to stay afloat. The fear in their eyes was noticed by a water spirit nearby, who witnessed everything and became full of pity for the maidens. They had only wanted to escape the samurai, but they had instead come to meet their death at the hands of the Spirit World. He would not have it._

_“Yuu! Help me!” Before Zen could grab her sister’s outstretched hand, another wave hit them, dragging them to the bottom of the ocean. Just before the women’s spirits went to heaven, the spirit gave them both an elixir and they became like him, their lifeless bodies now hidden by the barrier between the two worlds. The spirit dragged them to the shore and covered himself with a cloak, hiding his form from the women._

_“We… we almost died! How can we thank you sir?” The spirit dropped his cloak as a tear slid down his snout, revealing a great red dragon with a purple mane. Yuu and Zen screamed but the dragon changed into a handsome man a few years older than them._

_“Dear ladies, I regret to inform you that you are in fact dead. I am a river spirit and I guard the gate between your world and ours: the spirit world. There are many other gates, but this alone is mine. Would you like a place in which to work and live as spirits for all eternity or go back to where you were going? Into heaven?” The two women stared at each other, silently agreeing on their decision._

_“We’ll stay here.” As the years rolled on, Yuu and Zen became close friends with Monban also changing their names to Yubaaba and Zeniiba._

_He would frequently show them around the town when they had time off from the Bath House’ long shifts. The manager passed away a year after the women arrived after mysteriously dying, the girls having witnessed Monban’s coming-of-age ceremony a week afterwards. The sisters brushed it off when other spirits said it was form a broken heart, assuming it was old age. One day Yubaaba came back from seeing Monban on her own and was smiling at Zeniiba, one hand on her stomach as she gave her sister the good news._

_“I’m pregnant!” Zeniiba’s face dropped into one of shock and embarrassment. She had never been with a man and suddenly her sister was having their best friend’s child! Zeniiba flew into a rage and punched her sister in the face, Monban seeing the whole scene from behind a stall._

_“Zeniiba, stop! You could hurt the baby!” Zeniiba calmed down enough to talk without lashing out at the river spirit. At the same time, the two women shouted at Monban, the blow to his emotions acting as a physical force._

_“I hate you!” He fell to the ground and the two women began crying over his dead body, both of them by his side. Only a year after the incident, Yubaaba and Zeniiba chose to be 50, the same age as Monban when he died. For over 5,000 years the two held a grudge, still trying to understand who it was that had killed him. Zeniiba knew who it was that killed their first love, but Yubaaba believed that it was Zeniiba’s fault._

 

“Who’s fault was it Granny?” Zeniiba nodded to Kaonashi.

“Think back on the situation Chihiro, which of the sisters did he fall in love with first?” Chihiro stared into the fire, two hearts appearing in the flames, a third pushing in between them. An arrow suddenly pierced the three hearts, the arrow’s tip shaped like a heart. As the arrow was ripped from the three hearts, the one in the middle disappeared, followed by the other two and the fire returned to its unpredictable, flickering orange flames. The realisation hit Chihiro like a small stone; hard, but not enough to hurt her.

“It was both of you! He fell in love with you both **and** you both broke his heart when you said that you hated him… that’s how the Bath House owner died too.” Zeniiba nodded and Kaonashi looked at Chihiro. His thoughts on the matter wouldn’t help at all.

The spirit left the room in a frightful mood, his emotions filling the room like a dense fog. Chihiro followed him and Zeniiba waited for a sound, but she heard nothing. Whenever something bad happens, Kaonashi tends to scream or roar, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. In the hallway, Chihiro could feel the fear, the pain, the heat. A voice called to her from a doorway, beckoning her to follow it. Kaonashi was at the end of the hall, whispering.

“Would you like to talk to me? Would you like to tell me what you’re thinking?” When a gush of wind ripped through an open window at the other end of the hall, Chihiro snapped out of her daze and her eyes widened when she saw a hungry look in his eyes, as if he was about to devour her. Kaonashi pushed her against a wall. He was bruising her stomach as his ribs pressed against her tender flesh, the pain bearable for the moment.

 

“I’ll mark you like cattle, Chihiro. You’ll be mine no matter what the Dragon boy does.” Chihiro felt Kaonashi wrap his arms around her waist and she squealed, hoping somebody would hear. Somebody did.

_Tune in soon where we find out who will save Chihiro from being ‘branded’ by Kaonashi. For those who are having a hard time understanding my idea of what Kaonashi looks like, I imagine him to look like Sebastian from Black Butler with longer hair and other parts of his description in the past (2?) chapters. **Monban means Gate Guard in Japanese.**  _


	10. A Dangerous Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaonashi has been incapacitated and his first love is revealed to be a friend of our heroine, but which lucky lady is it?   
> And why is Chihiro suddenly afraid of Haku, her only love and best friend?
> 
>  
> 
> (This chapter get's a bit weird with extra plotlines and possibly unexpected violence).

Chihiro stared in horror as Kaonashi was knocked from her side by a familiar white dragon with a green mane, his claws retracting when he realised one had slashed the greed spirit’s side. Chihiro couldn’t react in any other way but squeal, a bad habit that she was sure had annoyed her friends since she had last been to this world.

“Haku, what did you do?!” Haku shifted into his human form and stared at Kaonashi.

“Exactly what I had to… did he hurt you?” Chihiro took a deep, stuttering breath and released it slowly, shaking her head from side to side as tears threatened to leak from her eyes. Haku wasn’t convinced, but he knew Chihiro found it hard to see the bad in people; this incident was now proving what he had thought was going on behind his back. _It was all a secretive ploy to take her away from me and I will never let him get away with it again, no matter how hard he begs for my forgiveness._

“I’m taking you back home; you’re not safe here with **him** around.”

 

Kaonashi was glaring at Haku with pure anger, the grimace on his face becoming pained as he breathed hard, blood pooling by his hips. Chihiro was concerned for Kaonashi, but her fears kept her from helping him up. How can he **mark** a human being? Why isn’t Haku healing him? What is going on?!

“I was close; one touch and she’d be mine.” Haku heard the threatening tone in the greed spirit’s voice and he finally shouted, scaring Chihiro into a stunned silence.

“If you even THINK of coming near her again I’ll tell your first love who they are to you and why you really came to the Bath House all those years ago! Are we understood Kaonashi?” Chihiro couldn’t take the argument anymore and ran to Zeniiba who had heard everything; her oversized head poked from around a bedroom door and she was more than alarmed by what she’d heard.

“What happened? Was it Kaonashi?”

 

Chihiro nodded nervously and Zeniiba’s short arms wrapped around her shoulders, certain that the greed spirit had scared her at the very least.

“What did Kaonashi mean by branding me?” Zeniiba froze and held the young woman at arm’s length, concern pasted across her face.

“Did he try to kiss or bite your neck?”

“I think he was going to… he pressed me against a wall in the hallway and Haku burst through to stop him. What is branding?” The frustration had gotten to Chihiro and Zeniiba could hear it when she asked her question again in a deep and possibly threatening tone. Zeniiba couldn’t deny Chihiro the answer, but it definitely wouldn’t be something she wanted to hear.

“Branding causes whoever’s afflicted to become obsessed with the person who branded them. If Kaonashi had bitten you or kissed you he might have killed Haku.”

 

“That’s what happened to Lin’s partner when she turned 25; they weren’t yet in love and another spirit came along and kissed Lin. The mental pain became such a strong physical pain that it killed him on the spot because Lin was **his** first love. Let’s see if you can guess who the guilty party was.” Chihiro suddenly couldn’t breathe as if the air in her lungs had been forced out in a rush as she put a hand over her mouth, the mixture of a sob and a squeal escaping between the gaps in her fingers.

“He did it before to Lin?”

“And Lin is his first love. It happened not long after he felt sorry for kissing her and that sorrow became a strange love. He hates himself for it but… I think Lin secretly wanted to find him and apologise for all the horrible things she said to him.” Chihiro was thinking over everything she’d heard and tried to make sense of it.

“Was the spirit that died Lin’s first love?”

 

“No. I don’t know who it is till this day.”

“Is Lin older than Kaonashi?”

“Yes, by 50 years. In the human world wouldn’t she be called a... cougar?” Chihiro huffed amusedly and her face became stone when Haku walked Kaonashi into the room, a long bandage tied around his waist. Chihiro made a split-second decision and prayed to whatever God was listening that Haku would agree to it for her sake.

“I think Kaonashi should come with us.” Haku nearly dropped Kaonashi onto the floor. The greed spirit was clutching his stomach, long black hair hiding his face from their view.

“Please tell me you’re joking?” Chihiro could see how wound up Haku was and she stared him in the eyes, her strong will forcing her to do what she thought was right, even if it meant getting angry with the only person she’d ever loved.

 

“He has someone back at the Bath House who might love him and that person is the only one who can help him. Please Haku, for me?” Haku’s eyes showed his indecision, but quickly he made the choice he thought they would all regret.

“We leave in the morning at sunrise. I need to be back by sunset for the beginning of the ceremony.”

Kaonashi began sobbing, his back shivering. Haku did something that nobody was expecting, not even Kaonashi himself. His foot connected with the gash across his stomach, reopening the wound he had partially healed. Kaonashi cried out in agony and Zeniiba screeched, her body engulfed by flames and her hair becoming a tangled mess as the hair tie holding it in a bun burnt to ashes.

“Nigihayami Kohakunushi, leave Kaonashi alone **this** instant!” Haku stopped, his anger becoming a resounding fear. Chihiro saw the anger in Zeniiba’s eyes and spied Kaonashi lying with his hand over his stomach as blood steadily flowed out.

 

He was crying and his hair was stuck to the liquid pooling around his eyes, the pain frozen on his face in a silent scream. Chihiro knelt down by him and pushed the hair out of Kaonashi’s eyes, his hand reaching out to touch hers. She felt like pulling away but the quaking in his hands stopped her.

“It... hurts.” The groaning that came from his throat was unbearable to listen to, but she held his hand to get him through it. Maybe we should leave tonight…

“We’re taking you back to the Bath House tomorrow and we’ll let you see her.” Kaonashi’s eyes sprung open and he made eye contact with Chihiro, slowly sitting up as Haku healed him from a distance.

“We’re leaving now. Don’t talk to me until we get there.” Chihiro looked up from Kaonashi and glared at him.


	11. The Fine Line Between Desperation and Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two lovers cross a line they'd never thought to cross before while another two are reunited by unfortunate circumstances.

Chihiro was clinging onto Kaonashi’s shoulders for dear life; Haku was flying so quickly she could feel her toes tingle, head spin and stomach travel toward her feet with each passing minute. While the cold wind of night whipped against her face Chihiro felt it prick at her skin as if the atoms in the air had become shards of glass. She buried her head in the back of Kaonashi’s black jumper, the pain becoming a dull ache and then a complete numbness that spread itself throughout her entire body. Her hands let go of Kaonashi and she fell down for at least twenty feet before Haku realised that his body felt lighter as one of his passengers fell toward the ocean below. When he turned and saw the empty space behind Kaonashi his eyes grew pink with rage. _Where is she? What did he do to her?_ Chihiro suddenly opened her eyes and looked through from the odd glaze that had fallen across her eyes, screaming as she fell into the ocean, the cold water waking her up fully. She kicked and paddled madly with her aching limbs until something dived under the water, a white line coming up under her legs.

Haku had gone underwater with Kaonashi still on his back, the sea water sterilising and stinging his wound at the same time. Just because he hated the man it didn’t mean he would let him suffer, especially if Chihiro would hate him for it. Right now all that mattered was getting Chihiro to land and questioning Kaonashi about her fall. Haku’s legs swept her up as he resurfaced, the Bath House coming into view. _Not far now Chihiro, just hold on._ Haku made for the boiler room, certain that Kamajii would be able to help her warm up. With renewed determination Haku flew hard and fast toward the building, cradling the girl in his legs like a baby, using his scaly skin to his her face the way a mother would when her child felt unsafe: he would never let her feel that way as long as he was around. Carefully entering the boiler room, Haku set Kaonashi and Chihiro down and pulled Kaonashi to one side, transforming into a human. He cradled Chihiro in his arms, her head against his chest as he set her down half in his lap; she was floating in and out of consciousness. Haku stared hard at Kaonashi and nostrils flared.

Chihiro caught sight of his rage and only blinked as her eyes grew heavy.

“Why did you push her off of my back?” Kaonashi returned Haku’s anger but kept his voice low for Chihiro’s sake.

“I never laid a hand on her; she was holding onto me and then she let go. That’s all.” Haku scanned his face for the signs of a lie but he found none, his heart telling him that he should be more worried about the girl in his arms. Chihiro put up a hand and Haku leaned his face against it, tears forming as she sat up in a daze.

“You two need to stop fighting over me: I’ve only ever loved one person and hat you Haku.” In a rush to end their arguments, Chihiro slowly moved her lips toward Haku’s. They sat with their mouths a few centimetres apart in anticipation, closing their eyes as the gap disappeared. Kaonashi felt a little out of place but he knew Chihiro could never be his; his love was still out there and she would never know.

 

The kiss didn’t last for long, but they had both made a statement that could never be denied, not even by the Greed Spirit himself: they were in love. Lin burst into the room to see Chihiro and Haku sitting on the floor in an embrace while a man stood in the corner, looking out of the glassless window. Lin squinted and walked toward him, a pain in her head making her stop.

“Hello Lin. Remember me?” Lin’s face dropped.

“You?! Why are **you** here?” Kaonashi turned around and smiled as the blood across his stomach healing up for no apparent reason; he knew why.

“The same reason you never left.” Kaonashi put out a hand for Lin to take and she accepted it, the man pulling her in closely to his chest.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Lin looked at Kaonashi’s face and saw it: love was staring her in the face. Her love. Kaonashi brought his lips to her forehead and Lin slapped him across the face.

“Why now? Why not a few thousand years ago?”

 

“Because I thought you could never love me after what happened to the only man who loved you.” Lin’s eyes bugged out of her head and she began laughing hysterically. Chihiro and Haku had stood and watched the scene play out, feeling both worried and hopeful. Now they were just worried – worried about Lin going mad.

“You really are stupid aren’t you? That was my brother not my lover. He had always loved my since we were children and seeing someone else treat me the way you had upset him and he lost his life because he thought I would no longer love him. Strange as it might sound I haven’t been staying here for him… I’ve been waiting for you.”

“If you knew who I really was you’d kill me.”

“I love you exactly as you are now. Isn’t this what you’ve always looked like?”

“No. I came to the Bath House when Chihiro was last here. The name’s Kaonashi.”

 

Lin fell forward in shock and Chihiro’s mouth fell open at the sight of Kaonashi pulling Lin up against wall. _And I thought I had problems!_

“I think we should leave to sort everything out by themselves.” Haku nodded and smiled, pulling her in for a big hug and kissing her for the second time. It was a little more rushed but it was still as invigorating as the first had been. Haku led Chihiro away to the women’s dorm and left here there to contemplate the day and prepare for the night; the night he would change forever.    


	12. A Warning From The Enemy Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yubaaba knows what will happen to Chihiro in the not-too-distant future after having a vision but Chihiro shrugs it off: what was her premonition about?

Chihiro woke the next day at midday to find that the Bath House was very quiet despite all the preparations they were making for the coming-of-age ceremony. She opened the door to her dorm hurriedly and saw a small glass box sitting in the doorway, almost stepping on it as she tried to leave, jumping on one foot right over it. Chihiro fell into a wall and laughed at her own clumsiness, standing and picking up the box carefully. She took it back into the room and ate the pork bun inside of it, leaving a note inside to the sender.

 

Leaving once again, Chihiro walked to one of the many places in the Bath House where you could see up to the top floors and watch as servants of various species, colours and sizes rush about to keep the space clean and running smoothly. From every second level hung a great tapestry with a green background, a white dragon with a flowing turquoise mane in the centre. Immediately remembering what today was, Chihiro squeaked and a hand grabbed onto her clothing, pulling her behind a wall.

 

Of all people it could have been – of all the spirits it could have been – she came face-to-face with Yubaaba.

“I told you that you were free to go and here you are again: have you come back for good?” Chihiro shook her head.

“No, **never**. I’m only here for Haku’s coming-of-age ceremony.” Yubaaba let Chihiro go as if her skin was made of fire.

 

She had had a prediction of the future and it had meant only bad things for the couple. By order of magical law she could not tell Chihiro what was going to happen but she could at least tell her what to do before the future came to pass.

“You have to leave **now** if you want to leave the Bath House intact Chihiro. I know what your future holds and despite how much I dislike you I would not wish it upon any other in this universe we live in, human or not.”

 

Chihiro pulled her lips in toward her teeth and her nose scrunched up in an amusingly angry expression.

“I’m not going to fall for your tricks Yubaaba. I know you don’t want me here because your workers like me better, so back off.” Yubaaba remembered her vision and this was exactly how it had started: with those two venomous words: back off. The universe had set Chihiro’s fate in motion and there was no way that she could possibly stop it. Though she was human, Chihiro would soon understand what it was like to be a spirit when the ceremony was complete.

 

Sorry for the short chapter: this fic looked a little abandoned so I needed to give you guys some insight into what lay ahead before I start planning/writing out the ceremony where the next chapter will take place. Thank you for all the super-kind comments and kudos: keep ‘em coming and I’ll do the same with the chapters!


	13. The Ceremony Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku's ceremony has begun and Chihiro is taking the journey to adulthood with him.

_I apologise to anyone of Japanese descent who finds the ceremony to be offensive or they find it to not be honourable by their standars: I have a limited knowledge of Japanese culture and have done what I can to do your great nation justice._

_Chihiro was kneeling in a graceful position in a room in the upper levels of the Bath House that Yubaaba reserved for worker’s coming-of-age ceremony: it was the one day she was kind and the workers took full advantage of it, cleaning to the best of their abilities in the hopes of impressing her and getting a pay rise. Close friends including Boh, Yu-Bird, Zeniiba, Yubaaba, Kamajii and the odd coupling of Kaonashi and Lin were all in neat rows, four in front and four behind. As the ‘family and honoured guests’, the eight of them were all dressed in beautiful kimonos. The women wore darker and darker colours depending on their age: as the youngest, Chihiro’s kimono was white while Yubaaba and Zeniiba’s were a deep red. The men were in green, Haku’s a brighter shade that reminded Chihiro of a lime’s outer flesh: he no longer wore white because he was now considered a man. A short monk in orange robes stepped forward with a white and lime sash to match Haku’s clothing. The monk held out the ribbon and asked Haku to tie them at one end, the young man doing so immediately._

_“Today we gather in celebration of this boy, Nigihayami Kohakunushi, becoming a man. Of all the ceremonies I have performed, never have I seen a spirit with this much loyalty, kindness and pure will. Your friends know you as Haku, yes?” Haku nodded with a blank but determined expression._

_“Yes.”_

_“By law, nobody can influence the decision you make about your age and nobody may give up the details of this ceremony under any circumstances unless both parties were present. These is the oaths that each of you take now, with or without your own consent. Haku may choose one person in this room to answer him a question relating to their own age or the age of another; however, you cannot ask him to choose an age. Doing so will result in the wiping of all your memories. Haku, choose wisely.” Haku’s eyes scanned the eight people to his left, slowly getting rid of them as he thought through his options._ _I what question I want to ask and only one person can answer it…_

_“I would like to ask Chihiro a question.”_

_The monk signalled for Chihiro to step over and she raised herself carefully from the floor, knees aching as she stood. Kneeling by Haku, he leaned over to her and asked the question as precisely as he could._

_“How old were you when you last came here and how old are you now?” The monk waited for Chihiro’s answer, ready to wipe her mind if she forced the number onto him._

_“It’s your choice so make it wisely: I was 10 when I came here and now I’m seventeen.” Haku nodded and smiled._

_“That’s all I needed to know.” Haku faced the monk and bowed once, bending at his hips with his palms pressed together as if saying a prayer. He sat back up and he forced the smile to go away –almost completely – and replace it with the determination he had before._

_“I have made my choice. I met Chihiro when we were two years apart and I want it to stay that way. I choose to be 19 for all eternity.” The monk nodded once._

_“It is settled: you fell in love with this girl aged 12 and over the course of a week, you will age one year in a day. You can never change back.”_

_“The process is painful, embarrassing, complicated and above all, requires someone with a kind heart to care for you; choose one guest to watch over you as you become a man.” Haku looked back at the adults and he saw Lin wink, silently telling him that he would make the right decision no matter who he chose. It was settled then._

_“I wish for Chihiro to stay with me.” The monk plucked a red ribbon out of thin air and attached it to the green and white ones, wrapping the three around one another like a braid. When he was finished, he asked Haku to tie it around Chihiro’s hand and tie it up. The monk asked them to hold hands and they did so willingly, the old man muttering a spell over their hands and the ribbon bracelet. One small hand encompassed their hands and wished them luck, his smile widening when Haku kissed Chihiro’s hand. A bright light flashed to show that Haku’s ceremony was over. The entire room shouted and screamed when the couple stood, every last man and woman overjoyed. Before Haku and Chihiro could leave the room, the monk asked them to come back with a single wriggling finger._

_“The process begins tonight: he will change back into his 12-year-oldform and the pain will start by midnight. A room has been put in place for you both in the highest reaches of the Bath House so that only you can hear the screaming.” Chihiro and Haku both looked sullen and worried, but a swooping crowd quickly calmed them and they left to enjoy the night of festivities. It was only 9 o’clock when they went to the small room separated by a thin sliding screen painted black for privacy._

_“Which side would you like Chihiro?” She smiled and sat down on a chair that was sitting by the window, looking out over the sea._

_“I think I’ll take the smaller one: if you feel like pacing you’ll get dizzy and fall over.” They both laughed and smiled, Haku leaving to put on his more casual clothing. It was still white and crisp, but now he had a lime-green sash at his waist to remember the milestone he was celebrating._

_“Green suits you... it always has.” Haku smiled and Chihiro now left to change, both parties surprised to find that they had clothes put out for them._

_Chihiro had been given a pair of shorts and a top similar to the last set she’d worn, the oversized clothing magically shrinking to fit her body’s decent size. When she felt that the collar might be too low, it suddenly rose and she grinned._

_“Did you put these out Haku?” Haku turned to see Chihiro in a pair of green shorts that matched his sash and a purple top to compliment it, returning the odd smile she had on her features._

_“Yeah… I tested it on myself before I put it on those human clothes I scrounged up in lost and found. They aren’t anything amazing but I didn’t think you’d mind.” Chihiro held back a laugh when she saw the colour scheme of her clothing._

_“What’s so funny?” Her smile grew bigger._

_“My friends are named are Midori and Murasaki!” Haku stared at her blankly for a moment and fell backward on the thin mattress in the middle of the room in a fit of laughter. Chihiro sat next to him and begged him to go to sleep, thinking that he might not notice the pain as much if he weren’t awake. Haku looked at her quizzically and tried not to frown._

_“Why didn’t I think of that?” Chihiro made Haku sit in her lap with his head resting on her shoulder and right breast, gently stroking her hand through his long hair._

_“Because you were too busy thinking about something else: I don’t care what it is as long as it won’t upset you too much.” Haku smiled and it disappeared as he fell into a deep sleep. Chihiro kissed his green hair and slowly moved him off of her, pulling thin sheets over his body and resting his head on a pillow._

_“Good night Haku: sweet dreams.” Little did Chihiro know, those kinds of dreams were not for Haku to enjoy… not yet._


	14. The First of Many Painful Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku experiences his first growth spurt, but what happens is more than a little alarming to Chihiro. At least she can be ready for the next time it happens...

In the middle of the night, Chihiro woke to the sound of somebody crying out in excruciating pain. Wrapping herself up in a white silk robe, she ran to the thin screen and practically threw it aside. On the thin mattress was Haku in his twelve-year-old form, twisting around as if he were possessed by a demon. She could see his muscles contracting and stretching slightly as he began to grow, the bones under his skin stretching out at the same time. When it was over, Haku began to cough up blood as he had in his dragon form seven years ago after he stole the golden seal. Chihiro ran and got a new set of sheets, letting him continue the wheezing and gasping over the others. It looked like a murder had taken place on the bedsheets and she had to look away to avoid bringing up her meal. Haku could see how shaken she was and used a corner of the sheet to wipe his mouth of any lingering red. When he was satisfied that it was gone, he pulled off his top – which had been splattered with a few red spots – carefully folding it all up with Chihiro’s help.

 

So that Haku could rest, Chihiro took the folded and bloodied sheets to the door and sat them outside in the hallway. Haku didn’t feel like setting up his bed properly and vouched for a lazy approach to his bed: fling the sheet over the top of everything and lay back down. Realising that his sore muscles would allow it, he propped himself up against the thick wall to the right of the room and sat a pillow behind himself. The heel of someone’s big-palmed hands massaged his stomach with a careful forward and backward motion, slowly easing him into a lying position as he began to relax. He opened the eyes he never remembered closing and found Chihiro leaning over him, a hand on his stomach.

“Haku, does lying down help?” He blinked as sweat from his forehead slipped down toward his eyes. He slowly brought a hand to his face and wiped at the liquid scattered across his skin, finding that he could feel the cool wetness on his entire upper body.

 

Chihiro told him to wait and he smiled, finding it hilarious that the young woman expected him to move in his current condition. She returned swiftly with a small towel from her room and dabbed it across his exposed skin, starting from the edge of his pants and working her way up his body. When Chihiro got to his neck, Haku put out his hand so that he could take up the towel.

“I can do the rest: you need to sleep.” Chihiro passed it over and kissed his sweat-slicked forehead tenderly. Haku closed his eyes until he felt her warm lips disappear.

“And so do you.” Chihiro helped Haku stand and move to the mattress, one of his arms around her back. She had him sit up again and repeated the odd massage, continuing even after he had laid flat on his back and started trying to sleep. When Haku was dreaming, Chihiro let her hands move and pull the thin sheets over their bodies, moving herself over with her back to him. He needed rest and seeing her there with him might keep his mind calm if he felt the growing pains again.

 

If she had to go through this every night, so be it. She could at least be prepared the second time around and keep him sane.    

 

 

 


	15. The Second of Many Painful Nights (A Warning From The Enemy) Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro wakes to find Haku in relatively good shape, though the aging of his body has clearly taken it's toll.
> 
> And what does Haku tell Chihiro that worries her so much?

Chihiro woke and found that Haku had grown taller, his muscles a little more sculpted than they had been the night beforehand. His arm and face had small bruises here and there, tell-tale signs of the physical strain that had been put on his body. The sight of small pimples along his temples and cheeks hinted at the progress his body was making while he slept. If she remembered correctly, he was now 13. That left him with six more days of torture at night and peace during the day. Chihiro went to the door to get their breakfast and found some rice porridge on the ground in a white porcelain tray with a note on it. Chihiro opened it and began to read:

_Dear Chihiro,_

_As you have chosen to stay with Haku during this most painful of times, we beg you to take the dangers into consideration. While it may be tempting to hug him and comfort him while he is half asleep at night, be wary of his mood swings. Also, as a female, we warn you of sexual attraction and the Dragon method of imprinting. Should he imprint on you, you may not be able to enter into the human world ever again. Yubaaba had tried to warn you but you seem not to listen to those who are once held cruel intentions toward yourself and Haku._

_Stay safe,_

_The Monks of the Spirit Temple_

Chihiro dropped the letter into a pocket and brought the porridge in, setting it down on the low table above the head of the mattress she had slept with Haku on that night. As the porridge continued to steam away, Haku woke up and smiled.

“Good morning Chihiro,” he said happily, “did you sleep well?”

She gave a nod and said nothing for a little while, wondering if he remembered what had happened last night.

“Breakfast is here if you want it Haku,” she said, her mind a thousand miles away.

She was sure Haku had practically run to sit across from her, but perhaps he was just eager to eat something. His metabolism would likely be taking a beating for the next week. Haku gave Chihiro a hug and held her for a lot longer than she had expected.

“Is something wrong Haku?” she asked, “you’re kind of strangling me.”

Haku let Chihiro go and apologised quickly.

“Sometimes I don’t know my own strength,” he said with a weak smile.

They ate their breakfast and sat on the small veranda behind the table they had been sitting at, staring out over the ocean.

_“_ Does my family know I’m gone?” Chihiro said to Haku out of the blue.

He hung his head in thought for a moment and then looked up.

“They went looking for you and there is a search party trying to find you in the woods; police, firemen, even Midori and Murasaki are worried about you,” he answered with a blank expression, eyes darting to the water below them.

“When can I go back?” she asked him politely, concern and worry furrowing her brow.

“Whenever my body completes its transformation, so a week at the least,” Haku said as he stood up.

Chihiro stood next to him and realised that he was a little taller than he had been before. She looked out over the ocean and saw the sun setting… but how could it be? Haku saw her confused expression and laughed to himself, Chihiro obviously not understanding the hilarity of what he saw.

“You want to know why time is passing by so quickly, am I right?” he asked.

Chihiro only nodded.

“The process can be as drawn out as I want it to be or as quick, so the days and nights will go faster for me: the quicker this happens the better,” he explained in a clam tone, hints of something like worry making the edges of his mouth droop.

 

Chihiro looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t get it, does that mean I’ll be awake in the dark while you’re asleep?” she asked hesitantly.

Haku smiled and put an arm around her shoulder.

“Is it so bad watching me sleep?” he teased.

Chihiro knew it was a joke but he needed to think before he spoke.

“I’m worried about you Haku… this whole process of aging overnight has put you in so much pain already that I couldn’t bear to watch much more,” she said in earnest.

 

As it grew dark Haku decided to position himself as he had the night before. He had a long way to go before he could sleep normally, let alone sleep without fear of scaring his love. But he knew Chihiro was strong: if he could make it through the pain so could she. Chihiro sat next to the bed and watched him from a safe distance in case he needed her. Aside from excessive sweating and a few moans, the second night was far more peaceful than the first and would hopefully continue to stay that way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the massive delay but I have a series running and I wanted to spit out as many chapters this week as possible, so hang in there!
> 
> If there are any recommendations for me I will gladly take them into consideration, but for now you can always check out my other stories to fill in the gap or search up some old ships you know and love XD
> 
> \- Madzie2000


	16. The Third of Many Painful Nights Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku learns that speeding up his transformation is painful at best and infuriating at worst. Moreover, Chihiro realises that she may be in over her head with Haku's dragon side and imprinting.

The next morning (which came around quite quickly) Chihiro brought out a warm, wet towel for Haku to sit across his chest. His pectoral muscles had become more defined, but so had the bruises across his body. Much as he was strong, he couldn’t hide the pain. He woke up panting and sweating, barely able to speak. Haku had managed a few grunts and sat up only for a drink of water or a rice ball if Chihiro could bring herself to look at him and help him eat it. When Haku let the day continue as normal, she knew for a fact that he had figured out why his body needed the natural time to rest. As humans did, he had to learn the hard way. Haku had been forced to lay with his back against that of Chihiro for support as she pondered over the contents of the letter in her head. She didn’t know that dragons could imprint and – from what she’d seen in a couple of movies – imprinting was possessive, just as Kaonashi had been. Did that mean Haku had to bite her and leave a mark or was it something less daunting... or more so?

 

Haku could tell that something was wrong and he didn’t like it.

“Chihiro,” Haku whispered as his voice grew stronger “is something bothering you? You’re thinking so hard I can practically hear you.”

Chihiro tensed up and Haku felt the muscles clench under his back. Was it something I did?

“No,” she lied “I’ve just got a lot to think about. I mean, well, a whole week without my family is doing to them. I want to be here – I really do – but they’re going to miss me. When this is over we’ll have to part ways for the last time and I don’t want that... but that’s what’ll happen.”

Haku moved his body around slowly and hugged Chihiro from behind. His face got uncomfortably close to her neck as his head became too heavy for him to lift. She was getting better at thinking on her feet but this time quick thinking wasn’t as good as genuine planning.

 

Rather than getting Haku off of her back in a metaphorical sense he was now literally on it, using it as a pillow while she scanned the horizon. Haku had kept his hands on her shoulders, only now thinking to wrap them around her chest. The tense feeling in her back subsided a little. However, the fact that Chihiro was still practically stiff as wood told him that she was still worried about something. To calm her nerves Haku turned his head up to the side so he could kiss her cheek and she went rigid. He felt it in his triceps, the way Chihiro’s muscles constricted tightly and she barely moved a millimetre. He moved his head back and stared in confusion at the back of Chihiro’s head.

“What is it Chihiro?” Haku said worriedly “What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” she answered quickly.

“Then why are you so scared?”

 

Chihiro put her tongue in her cheek as she thought, shifting around on her knees when she was ready to face Haku.

“The monks left me a letter about you, dragons and something about imprinting...among other things,” Chihiro said clearly.

Haku hadn’t realised that he was holding his breath and took in a gulp of relief.

“Would you like me to explain it? I promise it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Haku said with a small smile.

Chihiro let her eyes meet his and she was almost hypnotised by his voice.

“Dragon’s are very protective of gold according to the Western cultures,” Haku said as his voice gained a depth that appeared out of nowhere “but I know for a fact that dragon’s are also protective of what they love. A dragon only imprints on someone it wants to keep safe... or claim as its own.”

 Chihiro’s mind was clouded over by a fog that did not want to leave.

 

Her vision had grown blurry and Haku’s voice was drowned out by the sound of her own heart beating as if it had left her chest and moved into her head. Chihiro managed to clear the fog in her mind, staring at Haku’s bare chest as she took in what had just happened.

“Chihiro,” Haku blurted in a rush of air “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“What **did** you do?” she asked hesitantly.

“I almost imprinted on you,” he said seriously “and I can’t do that to you.”

“Why? Is it dangerous?”

“I’m making time speed up again,” Haku said to avoid answering Chihiro’s question.

The sooner this was over the sooner he wouldn’t have to worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had some amazing comments from you guys and just want to tell you how happy I am that nobody has complained about the lack of chapters being published. Tell me if I've made a mistake or tell me what's got you pumped for more!
> 
> Enjoy!  
> Madzie2000


	17. The Third of Many Painful Nights Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku urges Chihro to leave him be and moves time forward again. Will Haku imprint on Chhiro or scare her away from him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am making a request for SOMEBODY with amazing drawing skills to take any of the scenes I've created and make a bit of fanart because I can draw stick figures and that's 'bout it! Please? Do it for me? 
> 
> Also, this story will not be receiving a new chapter until the third or fourth of March
> 
> Thankyou very kindly XD
> 
> Madzie2000

“Why?” Chihiro asked Haku in confusion “You’ll only be in more pain.”

“I... I almost imprinted on you,” Haku said as he turned away from Chihiro.

She held onto his arm and pulled lightly on it, making his head turn. Chihiro brought Haku’s hand up to her lips and kissed it.

“What’s so bad about imprinting that you said it twice?” Chihiro asked without even a hint of worry “It won’t kill me.”

“No... but it’s still a bad thing,” Haku whispered as he turned around on his knees slowly “When dragons imprint they form an inseparable bond with the other person. If I did that with you then you might never leave the Spirit World.”

“Do you understand me?” he added with a vigour that put Chihiro on the verge of fear.

Neither of them had realised it until now, but Haku had latched his hands over her upper arms in desperation. Haku was looking into her eyes and he let them drop.

“Don’t you want to see your family?!” Haku said in frustration, pushing Chihiro’s mind into a fearful silence.

She didn’t speak or think... she just sat there as Haku’s hands got tighter on her arms.

“I’ve spent hundreds of years looking for one and instead I found you,” he admitted sheepishly “and I care about you more than I do myself. Please Chihiro, don’t throw away your life to be here with me.”

Chihiro couldn’t disguise the pain any longer and gasped, the hands on her arms letting go as if she had suddenly become a naked flame. Outside the window the entire day had gone forward and it was the blood red sunrise. While Chihiro was looking out of the window, her eyes widened. He hadn’t done it this quickly yesterday. Suddenly Haku screamed and she heard small cracks. It was his bones stretching at the abnormal pace he had set for himself as...

“Haku?!” Chihiro screeched, her hands remaining by her sides in terror.

If she touched him she might hurt him or make the pain worse.

“Tell me what to do,” she said in a panic.

“Stay there,” Haku groaned as tears rolled down his cheeks.

He had slumped over where he was and she noticed that his arms were longer than she remembered. _Now he’s hits 16_ , she thought as her own eyes threatened to betray her, _he’s only a year behind me now_. Haku was sucking in air, his ragged breathing stabbing Chihiro like a dagger. With what little willpower he had, Haku sat up and looked at Chihiro, his face dotted with bruises like his chest and arms. On his arms and chest they were black and blue with a strange green-yellow tinge around the edges, but the ones on his face were faded. She could at least look him in the eye without crying. Running her fingers over the bruises lightly, Chihiro pressed her lips to Haku’s forehead lightly. He didn’t need to cry more than he already had. Haku made hissing sounds as he tried to wrap his sore and tired arms around Chihiro, but she shook her head and he let them go loose at his sides.

“You’re right,” he mumbled to his lap, “wouldn’t want to risk imprinting on you.”

“Haku, that’s not why I stopped you,” Chihiro said with determination “I just don’t want to see you in pain like this. It’s killing me.”

Haku’s head flew up and his voice got louder out of frustration and the sheer pain and effort of moving such tense, bruised muscle.

“Don’t say that,” he half-shouted.

“Haku, you need to relax. The strain you’re putting on yourself isn’t helping.”

“No Chihiro… you aren’t helping,” Haku said in an unfamiliar tone she hadn’t heard him use before.

“I should never have let you stay!”

Haku buried his face in his mottled hands and started to sob. Seeing no other option but to give him what her mother called a ‘Healing’ hug, Chihiro leant forward a fraction and her arms carefully snaked around Haku’s slightly broader shoulders. For a few minutes Haku sat there and let Chihiro hold him, keep him warm, and make him feel whole. Suddenly a warm, tingly feeling ran through Chihiro’s mind and it became hazy.

“I’m sorry, I can’t stop it,” Haku said into her shoulder, his green hair shimmering in the sunlight.

“That’s okay, it’s not hurting me Haku... it’s like getting laughing gas,” Chihiro said as she began to slip out of consciousness.

“Nothing to... worry about... Haku...”

Chihiro went limp and Haku’s eyes widened.

“Chihiro?” he said in a panic “Chihiro wake up! This isn’t funny.”

To his delight, he could see her chest moving – since when did she have a chest shaped like that? -  and he could hear her light, airy snoring. When she woke up things would never be the same.


	18. The Fourth of Many Painful Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku has a little more explaining to do and some tears are shed... try not to cry

Chihiro’s head was heavy. Her eyes felt like they were being held down by lead weights, but when they opened, she felt very much awake. Her mind immediately went to Haku. Worried that he might still be in pain, Chihiro sat up quickly. She was pulled back brusquely by someone’s arms. A grunt sounded form behind Chihiro as the arms let go. She craned her neck to find that it was in fact Haku, nursing his arms by holding them to his wet chest. _He’s been wiping himself down while I was asleep_. “Haku?!” Chihiro said as she turned and placed a delicate kiss on her love’s head “Haku, did I hurt you?”

“I’ll live,” he said honestly “I’ve just got a few aches again because you strained my arms.”

Chihiro carefully pulled Haku into a hug, burying her face in his neck, taking note of his hair and the way it had grown longer. Soon he would be able to tie it up like a girl. She smiled at the thought and melted into Haku’s arms when they moved themselves around her back, breathing in his scent. Had he always smelt so enticing? Chihiro’s heartbeat sped up, her heart pounding in her ears. Was she that stupid she had never noticed it before? Haku’s skin felt warm against her cheek and Chihiro’s muscles no longer felt weighed down. Instead they were lighter than they had felt in a long time. It was as if being close to Haku kept her calm. For a moment Chihiro thought there was a bug on her neck and moved her hand to brush it away, only to find that Haku was brushing his fingers over her skin. Haku moved away from Chihiro so that his hand could glide up to her cheek, cupping it gently. Chihiro’s heart was beating impossibly faster. One of her hands went to Haku’s neck, their combined passion mounting until their lips met. The kiss seemed to last for an eternity, their tongues tasting flesh, exploring exposed skin with their hands. Chihiro was content with let her fingers through his dark green hair, deepening the kiss as she did so. Haku was near breathless when they broke apart and hugged Chihiro close to him.

“It’s not over,” he whispered.

“What isn’t, Haku?” Chihiro whispered as a laugh escaped her lips “You bonded with me already. It was fine. No pain, no bruises... you’re the one who’s suffering.”

“Chihiro, I have to make the bond permanent; I have to bind you to the Spirit world in a physical way,” Haku held Chihiro’s eyes for a moment and she searched them frantically.

She was hoping that her mind hadn’t jumped to the most intimate action, but then again, what was there besides **that** and kissing?

“You don’t mean...”

Haku nodded.

“If you want me to lengthen time so you have time to cope, I can,” he said as he moved back and threw a sheet over his shoulders.

“What are we supposed to do until then?” Chihiro said, trying to keep a calm mind and a calm exterior all at once.

“Nothing. We just wait; you need your space so I’m going to sit in the other room until nightfall.”

With that Haku left and went into Chihiro’s room off to the side, stumbling a little on his feet. He took some food in with him that had been delivered that morning, leaving the other half for Chihiro.

 

As Night Fell...

 

Haku left his room and gazed out of the window. He was watching the sun touch the ocean on the horizon, glowing orange-red as it disappeared below the waves. He had replaced his kimono with a casual white tunic and his favourite pair of pants. Even though his shoulders were far broader and his legs were longer, everything still fit. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed he had gotten dangerously thin. Haku saw Chihiro sitting with her legs crossed out on the small veranda, most likely pondering what he had said that morning. It was understandable to say the least.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier,” Chihiro said with a distant voice, confirming Haku’s suspicions.

“You told me what happens if I **do** choose to sleep with you, but what happens if I say no?”

Haku’s throat ran dry. He didn’t want to say it, but she had asked him; he couldn’t lie to make her stay. If he lied she would leave anyway.

“This was why I told you bonding was dangerous” he said as his mind went blank.

He felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest and thrust a fateful dagger toward his heart. Was this what it felt like to be a horrible person to the one you love? If it was, he was going to stop it before anything more could happen.

“If we don’t form a physical bond then you will disappear from the Spirit World forever. You can never travel back, even if you want to with every ounce of your soul.”

Haku fell onto his backside, landing on the thin mat with a thud. He shouldn’t have done that. It hurt far too much. Then again, he’d be in far more pain soon enough.

“That’s why I told you it was a bad idea... I didn’t want to leave you with such an important decision,” he said sullenly “and if I never see you again, I’ll only have myself to blame.”

“But I’d be the one made the choice, right?” Chihiro said as she stood up and walked over to Haku “You can’t blame yourself for the decision I make, can you?”

Chihiro sat on her knees and held Haku in her arms, his head resting against her shoulder. Tears began to wet her shoulder as Haku’s aging began. The sound of cracking bone, stretching muscles, it was all too much for him. He had a million reasons to cry and she had two at best. She might lose her family and her virginity, but that was nothing in comparison to losing Haku and her ties to the Spirit world. When Haku finally stopped sobbing, Chihiro kissed his cheek and leant up to his ear.

“I’m staying here, with you,’ she said quietly “we can be together for eternity.”

Haku was a little drowsy, but he got the gist of it. She was scared but optimistic. When an exhausted Haku fell asleep in her arms, Chihiro lowered his head down to the pillow and kissed him again.

“This isn’t going to be easy, but love conquers all, doesn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO MUCH for the support, Kudos and possible fanart on the way XD
> 
> I have a fair few stories on the move and I am currently focused on another long series, but I will try to get another chapter out sometime next week for the avid readers!
> 
> The next two chapters will be full of chatting about the past, which will surely be a good trip down memory lane... AKA I AM RE-WATCHING THIS BEAUTY OF A MOVIE
> 
> Update: I watched the movie while I was eating dinner and the next chapter gets a bit smutty... I was hoping to avoid it but after watching the movie I just couldn't leave it. Thank you A03 for corrupting my brain :/


	19. The Fifth of Many Painful Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro tells Haku a story and she get more than she bargained for...

Haku was leaning against Chihiro and he was weak. He only had two more days after this and she was glad of it. He couldn’t handle much more than that. In a bid to keep him calm, Chihiro decided to talk about her first day in the Spirit World, since her last day in the human world was long gone.

“Haku?” Chihiro said as she ran a hand through his dark green hair.

It went past his shoulders by a whole hand and she noted that he had broader shoulders than he had the day before. He’d gained some muscle tone too.

“Yes Chihiro?” he said calmly.

“Would you mind if I told you a story?” she asked with a smile “I’m sure you’re too old for them, but this one’s good, I promise.”

“Okay,” he said as he sat up and faced her “I’m ready.”

“Well,” she began “A long time ago a wise woman and her wise husband told a little girl that going to a new place is an adventure. That little girl didn’t understand what the wise woman meant.”

Chihiro shrugged her shoulders dramatically and Haku laughed.

“But then the girl began to understand when she found herself in front of a big tunnel, topped with an ancient temple. The wind wanted her to go inside, but she just clung to the wise woman and a wise man who thought he knew the way.”

Chihiro raised a hand to her forehead as if she were going to give a salute and moved her eyes and head in unison, searching an imaginary horizon.

“The little girl knew that the wise man and woman wouldn’t lead her into something dangerous, but the tunnel was whispering to her, telling her to turn back, so she decided to stay where she was. That was... until a big statue with two heads made a funny face at her. Then she followed the wise man and woman without question.”

Chihiro used her fingers to symbolise the girl running into the tunnel, following the man and woman.

“They all came out on the other side and the building moaned. The little girl heard it, but the wise man and woman couldn’t hear anything. Adults are bad at hearing things,” Chihiro joked.

Down the stairs Chihiro heard Yubaaba shout “That’s a lie!”

She and Haku were snorting to hold back their laughs. It was a bad idea to make her mad.

“Okay, where was I?” Chihiro asked Haku.

“the adults wouldn’t listen,” he said with a grin.

“Oh yeah,” Chihiro said “Alright. So the wise man, the wise woman and the girl crossed a little creek together and found a large marketplace full of people.”

Chihiro used the food on their plates as buildings, lining the furthest edges with rice balls.

“They went to a stall that was full of beautiful food,” she said as she picked up one of the rice balls “and the wise man and woman started eating. But then they didn’t stop.”

Chihiro ripped the rice ball in half and said “Audience participation.”

Haku smiled and took the rice ball, eating it politely despite the stories obvious portrayal of disgusting eating habits.

“The wise couple ate until their stomachs grew big and full of food but the girl wouldn’t join them,” Chihiro said eerily “because she knew that the consequence for being gluttonous was being called a pig. But the food was magical and the wise man and woman became pigs as a punishment. They hadn’t said please.”

Haku was making a face, as if he had heard this story before, but let Chihiro continue.

“A boy with dark green hair told the girl to leave,” Chihiro said with a small smile “and she really did try... but the magic in the world wanted her to stay.”

Chihiro leaned over to Haku and kissed him on the cheek.

“So I did,” she finished.

Haku rested his hand lightly on her cheek and kissed Chihiro with a passion he hadn’t known before now. He was fighting for dominance in the kiss and won Chihiro over quickly. His hands ran over her back and pulled her close. His possessive nature had taken over his mind and he wanted nothing more than to leave a mark on her. Haku slowly trailed wet kisses down Chihiro’s jaw and stopped at her cheekbone for a moment. Then he sucked furiously at the heartbeat he felt under his lips. Chihiro squirmed at the odd combination of pleasure and pain; she’d never felt anything like it before. Chihiro’s hands clasped on to Haku’s top, trying to get past the pain as Haku left a bruise on her neck. Haku suddenly let Chihiro go, staring at her neck and a brown-yellow mark he had left behind. This was why he wanted to be so close to her. To get rid of any possibility that someone like Kaonashi could take her away from him. Haku looked out across the ocean and wished he was somewhere far away. Somewhere she didn’t have to deal with an outburst like this. Haku stood up abruptly and went out to the balcony, feeding his feet through the wood. Chihiro saw him cover his mouth as the sun fell at top speed below the horizon. He was muffling his screams. Chihiro let a few tears cascade down her cheeks as the pain of her bruise set in. He hadn’t meant to hurt her this badly, had he? Haku grew too weak to hold up his hand and his cries echoed out across the vast sea, seemingly going unheard by the workers in the bathhouse. When he could no longer scream, Haku just lay on his side, his legs hanging out of the balcony, turning his hips at an odd angle. Chihiro knew he was punishing himself, but she still didn’t understand why he had to bruise her like this. Then it hit her. _Kaonashi wanted to mark me... but Haku stopped him. Now he’s making sure nobody can have me but him._ Chihiro was taken aback by the thought that Haku could be so selfish and selfless all at once. Deciding not to add to his obvious agony, she waited for his moaning to quieten down before she moved toward him slowly, wrapping the sheet around them both. Haku tried to roll over but a hiss of pain told her that he couldn’t do it. Not in this state. Instead, Chihiro put one arm around him cautiously and – slowly and gently – began to pull him toward her.

“You only have two more days,” Chihiro sobbed in his ear “Then this is all over.”

Haku continued staring out at the ocean, falling into a deep sleep as Chihiro stroked his hair to keep away any nightmares. That’s what her mother used to do.


	20. The Sixth of Many Painful Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro and Haku have a short-lived conversation and things get a little heated (though the heat is very much one-sided)...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up! Things are getting a bit saucy here guys ;)

Chihiro was certain Haku would push her away for good. It seemed that way. Since he’d woken up he had been jolting at her touch, moving away when she got close by shuffling across the floor... he even refused to eat next to her. He wanted to give her space but she had been hoping for the opposite. He had left time to continue on as normal when it approached sun-down so he could be prepared for the painful onslaught of the aging process. He didn’t want to pressure her into giving up her virginity like it was his to plunder. That wouldn’t be right in his mind. _It wouldn’t be in **anybody’s**_ he chastised himself. When Chihiro was ready, she would give the word. Besides, they had time. He wished he could spend that time with her, but he needed his space. The closer she got the more his skin burned, his heart ached, his heart raced... love was so complicated; he felt like her love was smothering him with a pillow. He wanted to be by her side but he was tempted to take her then and there. He didn’t want to become some primal beast and treat her wrongly. She was marked as his but he was still so possessive. In his heart Haku felt a weight like a stone. His conscience had come back. It told him to hold Chihiro close the way she had been holding him all night rather than abandoning her in the morning. Now he had a guilty conscience and it sickened him, but not as much as the lust he’d dealt with since the fourth night. The second night he had merely wanted to imprint, but he had quickly realised that the imprinting led to a heightened desire to be with his mate. He had woken up last night with an ache that hadn’t been his heart, but rather something far closer to the lower half of his body. It pulsed like a heartbeat but he was always told it was wrong to touch it, so he had let himself suffer in silence. Some of the older women made crude jokes about it, saying that a man could become ‘backed up’ – whatever that meant. It didn’t sound good, but he wasn’t about to change the rules to suit himself. The pain would be over soon: the one that aged him and the one that had begun haunting him. Chihiro sat in the opposite corner from Haku, watching his eyes water, become glassy, and then the tears would fade away. He kept pulling the sheets he’d wrapped around himself closer to his body and bunching them up in his lap compulsively. She had honestly thought last night would end all of his worries but he had only become more vigilant of her and what she did around him. Haku wasn’t being cold or cruel and Chihiro knew it, but it certainly felt that way sometimes. He didn’t want to push her away but for some reason he felt that he had to. If only there was a clue as to why he would make her move away or avoid her. Perhaps it was something to do with the imprinting and the bond they shared through it? Or maybe it was the aging process that had managed to upset him somehow? Chihiro was now staring hard at Haku, his distant gaze at the ocean had become somewhat off-putting. It was like he had died sitting up and she was just looking at a corpse. He had become that pale it wouldn’t have shocked her. Some of the places where he got bruises the most had grown a horrid purple and blue mixture, some of them combined with a deep green-brown. Most of these were around his joints and his jaw, with smaller ones mottled over what skin she could see. She looked back in her mind like it was a book, thinking each possibility for his actions through one by one.

“Well,” Chihiro whispered to herself “He’s definitely moving away to avoid something to do with me. That’s probably why he keeps staring out at the ocean. Being a river God Haku probably finds the water calming. Maybe he’s anxious about something?”

She nodded.

“Yeah, but what the heck is he anxious about?” she asked herself “And why does he keep pulling the sheet around himself? He arranging it kinda funny... Haku just gathers up in his lap like a badly made kimono.”

Chihiro’s brain was working overtime until she saw Haku do something she hadn’t noticed before. When he shifted his hips he clenched his hands into fists; he had been doing it to often that he had dug crescents into his hands and made them bleed. She knew what was wrong and the only way to help him was to get closer or tell him from the other side of the room. Being in a corner, going over to him would probably mean a death sentence for their relationship. Chihiro had to be careful with her words. One slip up and he’d be scared out of his wits.

“Haku?” she said cautiously, testing the water between them.

After a moment, she heard his reply.

“What?” he said flatly, hands clenching again.

“You need to put something between your hand and your nails so you won’t keep hurting yourself. The sheet would be good... I can pass one to you if you like?”

Chihiro stood up and picked up a blanket, fully prepared to pass it to Haku.

“Don’t...” he tried to say forcefully “Just... stay.”

“I’m only passing it to you so you don’t bleed out,” Chihiro said as exasperation leached into her tone “What could I do?”

Haku looked at Chihiro’s feet and dropped his head, holding out a hand, his arm extended as far as was possible in his human form. Chihiro walked over to Haku and dropped the blanket into his hands, seating herself a few metres away from him. Haku took the blanket and immediately threw it over his lap, tangling his hands in the warm fabric. Chihiro took the opportunity to lean forward and kiss his cheek, making him freeze on the spot. His hands didn’t clench and he didn’t frown. He just looked up at her, utterly bewildered.

“I know what’s happening to you Haku,” Chihiro said with a kind smile, sitting up on her knees and extending a hand out to him as far as she could reach without falling forward.

“I... I just... It’s so embarrassing and I hate it!” Haku said as he buried his face in his arms.

“It happens to humans too you know?” Chihiro said with a kind smile, standing up and sitting down next to him.

“Go back to where you were Chihiro,” Haku said into his arms, his voice very muffled but still distinguishable.

“No,” Chihiro said as she gently sat her hand on Haku’s leg.

He attempted to jerk his leg away but Chihiro used her other hand to hold his leg down.

“I’m not going to be anywhere near you!” she blurted out angrily “I’m just going to tell you how to fix it yourself!” 

Haku lifted his head up and Chihiro could see a wild look in his eyes. This was tearing him up on the inside; he was far too shy to let her see what would happen and she didn’t need to see him to give instructions.

“I’m going to sit and face the wall and tell you what to do Haku! Is that so terrible?”

Haku was taken aback and went dead silent, a light breeze blowing into the room that made him shudder. Chihiro held his gaze for a split second and then rushed to the other side of the room, staring at the corner of the walls.

“Do you have something you can throw away or wash later on?” she asked a little louder than usual to account for the interference for the wall.

Haku stood up and moved off somewhere and sat back down, giving a quiet reply.

“Yes,” he said flatly.

“Good, now get yourself comfortable,” she said clearly, trying not to imagine what would soon be happening behind her back.

Haku stood up, freezing time so that he wouldn’t feel the pain of the aging process. Neither of them would ever know it, but in that moment, they both gulped. Haku collected a pillow and put it against his back and then he used the sheets as a meagre mattress – it was better than the bare floor and he wanted to be as far from Chihiro as he could.

“Okay, what’s next?” Haku said, a light shake in his voice.

“Think of someone beautiful and keep a picture of her in your head,” Chihiro said with certainty “But don’t tell me who they are!”

Haku didn’t need to think for as much as a second. Did she really think he’d be so rude as to think of someone else besides her? Perhaps she just didn’t want to think of him doing something so taboo while his mind was on her... and he couldn’t really blame her at all. It **would** be rather off-putting...

“Done,” he said with a little more confidence.

“Alright, now... take it out and wrap your hand around it,” she said timidly.

Chihiro started making odd little faces at the sound of Haku moving his clothing around, curiosity turning her head in the slightest way toward his spot in the corner of the room.

“Now what?” Haku asked as he kept his eyes trained on the horizon.

Just holding himself like this with Chihiro’s head on the slight angle she’d let her head stay at was a little unnerving.

“You...” Chihiro looked for the words she needed.

Apparently Haku didn’t understand what he was supposed to do; now Chihiro was left to instruct him like a perverted Sexual Education teacher.

“... you move your hand up and down slowly while you think of the girl or woman or whoever it is,” Chihiro rushed to say as she dropped her eyes to the ground.

She heard Haku’s sleeves move against his arm as he began moving his hand slowly, his breathing growing quicker in the slightest way. Haku was moving his hand and as he let his eyes close, he thought of Chihiro. He let himself wonder what she looked like under her clothes, without something to hide her flesh from his hungry eyes. Her breasts had a curve that had never been there before and his mind placed them onto the image in his mind. Her body had always been slender and now he had an image of every part of her... every place but the one he would enter into when the seven days were up. In his mind he was running his hand down her stomach only to find an empty space where their bodies were supposed to join... at least, that was how he thought it worked. Haku hadn’t noticed that he was breathing loudly or moaning into the air, but Chihiro was listening intently, making sure he hadn’t managed to hurt himself. She wasn’t a boy, but Haku sounded like he was enjoying himself in the corner. He was huffing like he usually did after the aging process had finished and he had to recover, but the sound of his quiet, breathy moans made her shiver with excitement. Haku was starting to push himself into his hand and tightened his grip, speeding up the movement of his hands as he felt himself shake and shiver. Haku was close to feeling release, but he was afraid he might do something that would offend Chihiro. She might be turned away, but what if he said her name? He might have wanted to stop himself from going any further, but the pressure in his abdomen was slowly moving along his limbs, radiating through his body in one intense shockwave of pleasure. Haku made a rather strained groan and Chihiro knew he had finally let out his frustrations. He may have been fast but when she considered how long this had been building up for, she became less and less surprised by the second.

“Now you clean up the mess you’ve made,” Chihiro said nervously.

She was tempted to look behind her, but she knew doing so would only embarrass Haku as much as the realisation that she had heard every laboured breath that escaped his lips. Time began to flow normally after a moment of sheets ruffling about and Haku cleaning up after himself. She just hoped he wouldn’t look at her differently for what she’d asked him to do. Haku was breathing to calm himself and bring down the racing beat of his heart, taking note of the way Chihiro had become solid like a brick wall: she wasn’t moving or speaking at all. Haku decided to move back to the thin mattress on the floor, dragging the sheets back into place. He walked over to Chihiro and sat a hand on her shoulder.

“Um... I don’t know what to say in a situation like this,” Haku said as he crouched down beside Chihiro “But a ‘thank you’ seems... right.”

Chihiro turned her head and gave him a weak smile. She wasn’t sad at all, but she definitely planned on avoiding his hand touching her skin, since she knew what he’d been handling a few minutes ago.

“You’re welcome,” Chihiro said as she turned and stood up, moving over to the balcony rather swiftly.

Haku stood next to Chihiro and he had an awkward smile on his face.

“You didn’t... hear much, did you?” Haku said as he tried to hold back laughter.

Chihiro couldn’t keep up her mask and let out an ear-splitting laugh.

“I heard,” Chihiro said after she’d calmed down “It was pretty funny.”

“Oh,” Haku said with sarcasm dripping from his tone as he leant on the railing “I couldn’t tell.”

Haku moved toward Chihiro and she physically jumped back a metre and put up her hands.

“WASH YOUR HANDS FIRST!” she shrieked.

Haku doubled over and laughed as loudly as Chihiro, her brow furrowing.

“Yeah,” Haku managed to gasp, his giggles taking away his ability to form coherent sentences “I can – haha – see where you’re coming from.”

Haku put his hands over the railing and suddenly a jet of water sprouted up from the ocean and cleaned his hands.

“Was that good enough?” Haku ventured with a cheeky grin, his expression shifting to something Chihiro has come to know all too well.

He was aging again... and after this he had just one more to endure. Rather than rushing to hold him in her arms, Chihiro grabbed a sheet and threw it around his shoulders and moved back. Rather than screaming and shouting in agony, he was breathing loudly. It sounded nothing like the needier ones he had made earlier. These were dripping with pain. Chihiro sat next to Haku and she suddenly found herself wrapped in long arms, his quiet sobs echoing in her ear. Chihiro left her arms at her sides, moving her head forward to show that she wanted him to stay there and let out the tears. But he didn’t cry for very long. The pain seemed to fade away as soon as it had arrived and her arms slowly moved across his back, feeling muscles twitch under her soft hands and the fabric of his clothing. She let him go and he swayed a little too dramatically.

“One more night and I’m done,” Haku said, his body falling to one side “I’m ready to die just about now.”

“Don’t say that!” Chihiro half-shouted at him “You’ll just invite bad luck to come running in.”

Haku huffed as if he had meant to laugh, but neglected to.

“How do you think we’ll go... trying to procreate?” Haku asked seemingly out of the blue “I mean... look at how awkward it was to do that on the other side of the room from you. Imagine if we’d been next to each other.”

Reality hit Chihiro like a bus. He did have a point... and a strong one at that.

“We’ll figure it out... together,” Chihiro said confidently, laying down next to Haku.

They were half way on the mattress, but their hips and legs remained on the cold floor.

“I guess you’re right,” Haku said, laying his arm out and pulling Chihiro in to his side “Besides, love conquers all.”

Chihiro turned her head and gave Haku a kiss goodnight, trying to ignore the hand that was resting on her jaw. _I wonder if it was that one..._


	21. The Last of Many Painful Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haku has made plans for the future and Chihiro's just going along for the ride...
> 
>  
> 
> Apologies for taking so long... I had a cold :/

 

Haku woke earlier than Chihiro the next morning and watched her sleep. She seemed so at peace while she was dreaming; he hoped she would be like that for a little longer... he would lengthen time today and just **talk**. That’s when it hit him – the way to keep her at peace as long as possible. Haku shifted into his dragon form and used a claw to rip a square of fabric from the sheet he and Chihiro had been covering themselves with, watching to see if the sounds he had made woke her. Grabbing a small jar of ink and a calligraphy pen, he wrote a very important note and slid it half-way under the door, waiting for it to disappear. After a little while the fabric slipped under the door and he heard someone make a sound – perhaps of consideration – and moved the fabric back under the door with one word.

 

_Yes._

 

Haku was smiling widely when he heard a rustle from behind him. He turned and Chihiro was rubbing her eyes, stretching her arms past her head to wake herself up.

“Good Morning Haku,” she said with a smile “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Haku said as he slipped the fabric into the edge of his pants “I did.”

Chihiro furrowed her brow and stared at the hand Haku had used to tuck away what looked like paper with a message on it.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“The paper in your hand,” Chihiro said insistently.

“I was just saying hello to somebody,” Haku lied “It was Lin.”

“Then why’d you hide it from me?” Chihiro said with suspicion showing clearly in her expression “Is there something I should know?”

Haku decided he would let her guess and make the day last longer without magic; he could handle it.

“Well... it’s something to do with you,” Haku said with a wicked grin “But I won’t say anything until you get close.”

“Just like warmer and colder,” Chihiro said optimistically “Then I can figure it out on my own.”

“Well, here’s your opportunity... take a guess,” Haku said with a proud smile.

By lunch time, Chihiro understood a few select things about what Haku had planned; first and foremost, it involved her. Aside from the obvious, it was something important, where lots of people would be, where Haku would be... but it definitely wasn’t her birthday and his had already been. She was just sitting in Haku’s arms with her head on his shoulder, thinking madly. _Not a birthday, not a party, something like a ceremony, it involves both of us... no? It couldn’t be!_

“So... is it romantic?” she said with squinted eyes.

“I suppose so... warmer.”

“Will there be lots of peop – oh damn it! I said that already, didn’t i?”

“Yes, but you’re getting pretty hot.”

Chihiro turned around and stared Haku down, their eyes locked together.

“Will I be wearing a kimono?”

Haku suddenly perked up and nodded.

“Are we... getting married?” Chihiro ventured.

Haku’s face shifted from anticipation to pure joy and he said one word.

“Burning.”

Chihiro threw her arms around Haku and she ran her hands through his hair, which she noted had gotten so long it nearly reached his waist. Haku was a bit surprised and took a moment to register what had happened before he sat his hands on Chihiro’s shoulder.

“I was expecting you to say it would be too soon,” Haku said honestly “Not hug me.”

Chihiro pressed her nose into Haku’s and they both smiled.

“I can go one better,” Chihiro said, before covering his lips with hers.

Haku held her close and let time skip ahead a little to distract her from the distinctive bulge that had suddenly grown in his pants. Being distracted by Chihiro in his arms and the problem at hand – or more accurately groin – Haku had skipped too far ahead. They had maybe another half hour of sunset left, and the pains seemed to come about earlier than usual. He had to brace himself and try not to bite Chihiro’s tongue off if he started to shout. Chihiro stopped after a moment because her hand had gotten tangled in Haku’s hair and she looked out at the sunset.

“Do you want me to tie it up for you?” Chihiro said with a smile “My hair’s not as long as yours.”

Haku smiled and turned around, feeling Chihiro’s fingers rake through his hair and slowly clear away a few knots. On a couple of them he gave small yelps, but he tried his best to be a man about it.

“Almost done,” Chihiro said as she began twisting his hair through her pink hair tie.

For a second Haku thought something had gone wrong, but Chihiro tapped him on the shoulder and grinned.

“You look ridiculous with your hair tied back,” she giggled.

Haku smiled but suddenly his expression changed. He looked as though he’d just caught a whiff of bad milk and leant over onto Chihiro, his head on her shoulder. Chihiro ran a hand along his back, her hand catching on his hair every once in a while, but not enough to annoy him. Haku’s muscles were trying to relax and tense up simultaneously, adding to the burning that had spread through his muscles. Unlike the first few times he had aged, the burning wasn’t like molten lava racing through his body; it felt like the gentle flames of a candle licking his very soul. Chihiro’s hand only seemed to add to it in a different way. At least when they had to consummate the marriage – something he doubted would happen the first night – his feelings wouldn’t be so unwarranted. When the pain subsided and Haku could relax again, he fixed his lips to Chihiro’s and he had the biggest smile on his face.

“It’s over!” he said excitedly “We don’t have to stay in this stupid room anymore.”

Haku was so overjoyed that he practically pulled Chihiro on top of him, making them both laugh.

“Calm down Haku,” Chihiro laugh “You’ll wake someone up.”

“I don’t care,” Haku said with his smile still firmly in place “Because I have an important question to ask you...”

Haku gently rolled Chihiro off of his stomach and stood up, holding out a hand for her to take. As soon as she was standing upright, he knelt down and looked up at her as if it were the first time in years.

“Chihiro Ogino, I’ve known you for a long time, and in that time I came to realise that you were the only person I could ever truly love,” Haku said as they locked eyes.

He let go of her hand and pushed his hands together, a small light coming from between the gaps in his fingers. When he moved one of them away, he was holding a plain golden ring with a single white-silver rose in the middle.

“That’s why I want to spend the rest of my eternity with you. Will you marry me?”

Chihiro let a happy tear slide down her cheek as she began nodding slowly, letting Haku take her hand again and slide the ring onto her finger.

“It’s beautiful,” Chihiro said as she lowered her hand “But what is that rose made out of? It seemed familiar...”

Haku smiled and shifted into his dragon form, thrusting one giant, front left paw in her direction. Chihiro saw that – on the toe where he would have had a ring – there was bare skin on Haku.   

“The rose came from your scales?” Chihiro said inn disbelief.

“No, it’s made out of them,” Haku said with a smile he thought would never go away.

“Didn’t it hurt?” Chihiro asked cautiously.

“Not at all,” Haku said as he put an arm around her.

Haku went to bed that night in Chihiro’s arms, holding tight for fear that if he let go the other would fall back down into the human world and be forever cut off from him. It couldn’t happen like that, but nobody ever said love was a sensible thing.


End file.
